The final score was also exactly the same as it was when the two teams met in late November — 62-58.

Keeping the point spread tight for the entire contest, Knightdale (5-6, 3-0 Greater Neuse 4A) could not generate enough momentum to overtake a scrappy Eagle team.

It was the Knights’ second non-conference loss in two nights after they fell to Wakefield 73-59 last Monday.

Knightdale head coach Battle Watkins was disappointed for his team.

“I felt that over the last week and a half we were taking a step forward,” he said. “We had won four games in a row, and then last night and tonight we went back-to-back against two tough teams and lost both of them.”

Throughout the first half, Knightdale was able to stay within a point or two of Enloe and at times even took the lead compliments of strong shooting by Quez Crowell, Curry Lassiter and Brian Okoye.

Knightdale trailed just 3 points, 31-28, at the end of the first half.

Both teams started the second half in a scoring drought, and a full two minutes had ticked off the clock before Eagle forward James Miller scored to give Enloe (4-5, 1-2 Cap 8 4A) its largest lead.

With Lassiter leading the charge, Knightdale managed to outscore Enloe 19-14 in the third quarter to take a 47-45 lead, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

The competition became heated in the fourth quarter as Enloe pushed back on top, but Crowell hit a 3-point shot to pull Knightdale within 2 points With 30 seconds left in the game.

In the end, the game came down to free throws. Enloe’s Miller made two, and Michael Dix scored one.

For the Knights, Marcel Johnson converted one shot from the line.

A frustrated Watkins searched for answers to help his team overcome mistakes that are costing them wins in close match-ups.

“It is hard for us to win close games,” he said. “We know what the mistakes are, we just need to figure out how to correct them.”

Watkins looked forward to the holiday break to give his players a chance to rest, practice and improve.

He hopes his team will bring more intensity to the rest of the games in the season.

“We have some tough games coming up,” he said. “We face Southeast and Garner our first week back after the holiday.”

Despite the loss leaving the Knights with a losing record overall, Watkins is looking on the bright side.

“We are still 3-0 in the conference, and that’s good news,” he said.

Double-digit scorers for Knightdale were Crowell with 14 points, and Ronshad Shabbaz and Curry Lassiter with 10 points each. Also scoring for the Knights were Brian Okoye with 9 points, Kaelon Weldon with 7, Marquavious Johnson and Tabari Boykin with 3 points each, and Marcel Johnson with 2 points.

Enloe was led by Dix with 18 points, followed by Shawn McGee and Pervis Louder with 11 points each, Dominique Lee with 10, Miller with 5, Ronald Adams with 4, Amaceo Bonds with 2 and Chris Smith with 1 point.