“Craig did a great job of coming off picks and finding his shot.  He is a gritty player with a lot of heart.  All the kids on this team have a lot of heart and when they could have quit they didn’t” said Turpin coach Pete Hopewell.

King’s Aaron Gayhart, with ice in his veins, hit three of four free throws to seal the win.  Turpin had two opportunities to tie to take the lead during the remaining minute of the game but two trips ended with turnovers.

Kings’ jumped out to a 17-8 lead after one quarter with good perimeter shooting as they dropped three bombs from behind the arc.  Good movement away from the ball and crisp passes created open shots.

“Our offense is all about ball movement and creating space,” said Kings’ coach Mike Stevens.  “We did a good job of working the ball from the inside out and finding the open man.”

Every time it looked like the Knights were going to pull away from Turpin the Spartans would fight back with physical play at both ends of the court as they attacked the basket.

Turpin’s Andy Cruse led all scorers with 24 points, 10 of which he pumped in during the second quarter to keep the Spartans within eight points at the half as they trailed 30-22.

The trio of Matt Stevens (11pts), Derrick Harris (13pts) and Aaron Gayhart (14pts) led a balanced attack for Kings’s.

“Those three have come up big for us all year.  It is nice as a coach to know that you have more than one “go to” guy,” said coach Stevens.

The win allowed the Knights (11-5, 7-1) to remain tied in the FAVC with Wilmington whom they will have a showdown against next Friday. The Spartans fall to 10-5 overall, 4-4 in the FAVC.