Nicholson chased down loose balls and scored a key layup with 28 seconds to go to give Knightdale some breathing room on its way to a 71-64 season-opening win over Millbrook.

“We knew it was going to be critical to hold on to the ball and to make sure we got shots each time we got the ball,” Nicholson said.

Knightdale had to withstand a fourth-quarter Millbrook rally which saw a 17-point Knightdale lead cut to three in the last two minutes of play.

That's when Nicholson took matters into his own hands. On one possession, Knightdale passed the ball around the court quickly, struggling to find open space to make the next pass.

Nicholson, a 6'2” senior guard, finally got the ball outside the three-point line, he held the ball and allowed his teammates to get back into position to set up a play.

On what proved to be the key play in the game, the Knights stole a pass near mid-court, pushed the ball into the frontcourt and found Nicholson, who snuck through a crease in the Wildcat defense to make an easy layup. That shot pushed the lead back to five and seemed to take the legs out of Millbrook's offense.

Knightdale spent most of the game working with a comfortable lead thanks to a torrid streak to open the contest. After the Wildcats opened the scoring with a three-pointer, junior point guard Ahmad Abdullah responded in kind with the first points in a 14-0 run that gave Knightdale its working margin.

Nicholson said the quick start was important in the final outcome. “We know we are a small team and we have to all be willing to take shots.” Nicholson said.

Knight coach Battle Watkins said the early start was good, but he said the team's steady play in the early-season matchup was even more important. “In the past, we've either started out strong and had bad spells or we started off weak and got better as the game went on. This time, I thought we were consistent throughout the game,” Watkins said.

And even though the contest was only the first of the season for both teams, Watkins said the quality of the opponent says something about the caliber of his squad.

“We lost nine seniors last year and I think a lot of people thought this might be a down year for Knightdale. But we played well tonight against a quality opponent,” Watkins said.

That hardly means that Watkins doesn't see room for improvement. “I'd be surprised if we hit 50 percent of our free throws. If we'd hit 70 or 80 percent of them, then it wouldn't have been as close as it was,” Watkins said. In fact, the Knights just surpassed the 50 percent mark at the line, shooting 15-28 for 53.5 percent.

Nicholson led the scoring for Knightdale with 22 points. Abdullah chipped in 14 and Steven Geter added 11 for the Knights. Bradon Tate led Millbrook with 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Stephen Townsend scored 13 and Danny Mizerk added 10 for the Wildcats.