By Grant Mollett
Mount Dora – December 11
The East Ridge High School boys’ basketball team traveled to Mount Dora High School this past Tuesday to play in its fourth game of the season. The Hurricanes of Mount Dora played host to the Knights for an early afternoon contest in front of their student body. In January, the Hurricanes will visit Clermont to play in a second in-school game at the Dungeon of East Ridge.
Coming off a district loss to Edgewater on Thursday, the Knights looked to improve their record and score a victory against Mount Dora. The Hurricanes went to work against the Knights, shooting the ball well from inside the three-point perimeter. The Knights had to fire back and dropped in four three-pointers in the first quarter. The Knights and the Bulldogs were dead even at the end of the first quarter – 15 – 15. The Knights struggled to take care of the basketball, and their turnovers resulted in some easy Mount Dora transition points. The Knights also cooled off in the second quarter in regards to their shooting, totaling just nine points in the second quarter. Mount Dora took the lead going into halftime, 30 – 24. East Ridge came out in the third quarter a bit more poised in front of the hostile Mount Dora student body. The Knights heated back up, and dropped in five three-pointers in the third quarter – outscoring Mount Dora by ten points. The fourth quarter also went to the Knights, as they were able to capitalize on ten of their eleven foul shots. The Knights secured the victory with a score of 67 – 55.
| Players | Total Points – 67 |
| Brown | 21 |
| Lupianez | 21 |
| Morales | 11 |
| Reed | 8 |
| Grant | 2 |
| Bennett | 2 |
| Holt | 2 |
Seniors Kendrick Brown and Bryan Lupianez, who both scored 21 points, led the Knights. Additionally, junior Treasure Bennett, and seniors Kendrick Brown and Malcolm Reed led the Knights with six rebounds each. Senior Bryan Lupianez led the Knights in both steals (2) and assists (3) to help propel the Knights to victory.
Clermont – December 13
The Knights played host for the second time this season on Thursday night. The Wolverines of Windermere High School did battle in this sanctioned district game. Last season, East Ridge won both contests against Windermere.
The Knights started off sluggishly and failed to score in the first four minutes of the game. Fortunately, Windermere did not fully capitalize on the Knights’ shooting rut. In the last four minutes of the fourth quarter, the Knights were able to score in transition off some Windermere turnovers. Senior Malcolm Reed led the Knights with six of their ten first-quarter points, as the Knights trailed by two at the end of the quarter.
The Knights played a dreadful offensive second quarter. Windermere poured in twenty easy points off transition layups, inside baskets, and foul shots. The first half ended with both Windermere firmly in the lead, 32 – 15.
The Knights finally got some offense going in the third quarter with a corner jumper by senior Kendrick Brown and a layup by senior Malcolm Reed. Senior Bryan Lupianez would also contribute in the third quarter with six points off of a three-point play and a three-point field goal. However, the Wolverines would not be daunted by East Ridge’s attack. Windermere outscored the Knights in the third quarter by merely two points, but extended their lead to 19 points, 52 – 33.
The Knights knew they were playing from behind, and would have to play aggressively to give themselves a chance to catch up to Windermere. The Knights did outscore the Wolverines by four points in the fourth quarter, but could not quite overcome the large deficit. The final score was 65 – 50, as Edgewater handed East Ridge its second district loss of the season.
| Players | Total Points – 50 |
| Reed | 16 |
| Lupianez | 13 |
| Brown | 9 |
| Morales | 6 |
| Grant | 2 |
| Metcalf | 2 |
| Bennett | 1 |
| Powell | 1 |
Seniors Malcolm Reed and Bryan Lupianez led the Knights in scoring with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Additionally, Reed and Lupianez led the Knights with six and rebounds, respectively. Lupianez led the Knights in steals (3), while Reed and junior Treasure Bennett led the Knights in assists with two each.
East Ridge finished off the past week with a current record of two wins and three losses. The game at South Lake that was supposed to be played on Friday, December 14thwas canceled. Lake County Schools canceled all indoor and outdoor after-school activities on Friday afternoon. The schools are in negotiations to try to reschedule the game for later in the season.
The Knights have a busy week with three games before the winter break begins. This week the Knights will host St. Cloud on Monday, December 17th for a 7 pm tip-off. On Tuesday night, December 18ththe Knights will travel to Ocala to play Westport High School in their third district game of the season. Last season, East Ridge defeated Wesport High School in their one regular season game. The Knights will wrap up the week with an away game against Foundation Academy in Winter Garden on Thursday, December 20that 7 pm.
Grant Mollett, M.Ed., is the ERHS Social Studies Department Chairperson, AP World History and AP European History Teacher, Varsity Girls Cross Country Coach, and Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach. He is also a contributing ERHS sports writer for the SOUTH LAKE TABLET.
