Royal tops Ki-Be

ROYAL CITY — The Royal Knights boys basketball team wrapped up their South Central Athletic Conference season Thursday night by holding on to knock off Kiona-Benton 41-34.

The Knights improved to 4-8 in SCAC action, while the Bears fell to 0-12.

Although his team came away with the home victory on senior night, Royal head coach Pete Christensen said his team did not play particularly well.

“It wasn’t an exceptional game for us,” he said. “It was a learning experience (for all of us). This is my first year coaching.”

Royal got off to a slow start Thursday night, trailing 5-1 after the first 4 minutes before the Knights rallied to take a 11-7 lead entering the second quarter.

The Knights built on their lead in the second quarter, taking a 24-19 lead into the half.

Both the Knights and Bears got off to a slow start in the second half and Kiona-Benton outscored Royal 5-2 in the third quarter to cut the Royal lead to 26-24.

While the Bears closed the gap late, the Knights proved to be too much down the stretch.

Although the Knights managed to hold the Bears to just 34 points Thursday night, Royal had difficulty stopping Kiona-Benton senior Angel Mendoza. Mendoza led all scorers Thursday night with 32 points.

Despite finishing the season with a 4-8 conference record and failing to qualify for the conference tournament, Christensen said he is proud of his team.

“I am quite proud of the determination these fine young men had throughout the season,” he said. “They kept coming back and improving throughout the season.”