Mens basketball dominates

The Knights are already off to a big start of the men’s basketball season, with two blowout wins in the first week.

Against West Florida, Nov. 12, they laid down a wild 115-61 smackdown — the team’s biggest season-opening blowout in 38 years.

“It was a lot of fun,” sophomore Marcus Jordan said, following his career-high 28-point performance against the Argonauts. He said he had to fight back a smile while playing new head coach Donnie Jones’ high pressure defense and fast offense.

All of the team’s re-training in the off season looks like it’s paid off, with at least two Knights having career performances in their first game of the season.

Forward Keith Clanton, who had shied away from driving for scoring opportunities last season, went wild, scoring 24 points in a flawless shooting performance against West Florida.

Even more impressively, the Knights, who frequently had trouble passing 50 percent shooting last season, hammered home 66.7 percent of their shots on their opening night.

Defensively, the Knights were a virtual brick wall, holding the Argonauts back continuously with stifling pressure under the basket.

On their second night on the court, they made shooting even harder, holding the Jackson State Tigers to 18.8 percent shooting — a tie for the lowest the Knights have allowed since joining NCAA Division I basketball 26 years ago.

A team effort on offense turned into a shared scoring melee for the Knights, eight of whom scored six points or more in the game.

Leading the way again, Jordan nailed four-of-five shots en route to 13 total points.

The Knights continued to force the pressure on their opponents in the second game of the season, and it paid off in turnovers. In two games, the Knights already have recorded 20 steals.

The Knights (2-0) will have a grudge match on their hands starting 7 p.m. Thursday night, when they host the USF Bulls. The Bulls are off to a 1-1 start, with their only win coming off a 74-71 edging of St. Francis.