But East Wake, suffering from player injuries, couldn’t stand up to a fired-up Knightdale team and the Knights dominated the Warriors on their home court 70-52 on Friday.

East Wake head coach Darrin Stinson knew he was facing a tough game.

With three top players out due to injuries, including 6-foot-3 post player Robert Tomes, Stinson predicted an effective defense would be the Warriors’ best strategy.

Knightdale coach Battle Watkins entered the match-up with confidence in a deep bench full of players eager for game time.

“We should not get tired or have a drop off when we substitute,” Watkins said.

The Knights (3-5, 1-0 Greater Neuse River 4A) got off to a quick lead, and dominated from tip-off, shutting out the Warriors 7-0 in the first three minutes of play.

East Wake (1-5, 0-1) found the basket and got on the scoreboard with 5:37 in the first quarter, but continued its wobbly play until Shaquille Leach drilled a three-pointer to fire up his team and Warrior fans.

From that moment forward, throughout the first half, East Wake held on, managing to keep the score close, narrowing the Knightdale lead to just four points.

A Brian Okoye score for Knightdale at the end of the first half gave the Knights a six-point lead, and as the buzzer sounded, the score was 33-27.

Watkins was not surprised. Going into the game, he knew his Knights would be facing a tough rival.

“Coach Stinson does a good job motivating his players, and I know they will play at a high level,” Watkins said. “Rivalries bring out the best in the competitors.”

Crowd noise in the East Wake gym was deafening as the second half got underway.

Knightdale’s lead became slimmer as the third quarter wore on, East Wake managing to stay within four points. The Warriors even threatened to take the lead when freshman Josh Silver sank a 3-point shot to pull within one point of the Knights.

The score was 41-40.

That was as close as the Warriors would be able to come.

As the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, Knightdale surged ahead.

Knightdale senior Quez Crowell drove the spectators into a frenzy with a slamming dunk, making his team’s domination of East Wake complete.

The Warriors were not able to recover, and despite holding up under a Knightdale assault throughout most of the game, took an 18-point loss.

Stinson, who admits his team’s biggest challenge is taking care of the ball at the end of the game, will go back into practices to work on the ongoing issues.

“I need to get the players fired up,” he said. “We tend to lose focus at the end of the games, and we need to take better care of the ball at the end.”

For Watkins, this game may provide glimpses into how his Knights might fare for the rest of the season.

“We have lost some close games, and I hope we have used that productively to get better,” he said. “This game has a lot of potential to make an impact in our conference.”

Watkins said the outcome of the game would hinge on good defense, taking good shots, limiting turnovers, making free throws. and being tough on rebounds and loose balls.

And that is exactly what Watkins and Knightdale’s fans got, along with a resounding victory over their team’s biggest rival.