KNIGHTDALE - When the Knightdale boys host East Wake Friday things will be somewhat different than they were in their first meeting of the season in December.

Since the Knights defeated the Warriors 70-52 round one, both teams have had their ups and downs.

Knightdale (6-8, 4-1 Greater Neuse River 4A as of Thursday) has battled a steady flow of adversity on and off the court. Some players have missed games for discipline, some players have been dismissed from the team altogether, and others have fought through personal life challenges.

Coach Battle Watkins said it’s not uncommon to hit a few bumps in the road each season, but the first half of this season has been particularly rocky. He said that has resulted in a team with an uncanny ability to bounce back and keep plugging away despite setbacks it faces mid-game.

“They have a relationship and bond on and off the court, and a number of our seniors are starting to provide some leadership we lacked — some of those being [Quez] Crowell, [Brian] Okoye, [Curry] Lassiter and [Tabari] Boykins,” Watkins said.

But the Knights are still struggling to hit much-needed free throws, maintain defensive intensity throughout the game and manage the closing minutes of their contests. Watkins said his team will need to step up its game in those departments to overcome an East Wake team that as of last week began a two-game win streak after an otherwise slow start to the season.

“We’re going to get their best shot, and they beat Southeast Raleigh. That’s good for their confidence because Southeast Raleigh just beat Garner,” Watkins said. “They want to get back in the conference, and every conference win is what makes that happen. They’re going to play hard and coach Stinson’s going to have a good game plan, for sure.”

East Wake (5-10, 3-3) appears to be on the up-and-up. Warrior coach Darrin Stinson just hopes his players can use the excitement to their advantage rather than take a step backward.

“We keep practice interesting with game situations, but also we have teams that compete against each other,” Stinson said. “It keeps them thinking in practice each possession is important. Our focus is more in practice and hopefully that will carry onto the floor. It wasn’t early on, but it’s getting a lot better.”

The Warriors’ recent spurt of good fortune is the result of smoother practices and slow, controlled basketball on offense. Stinson said the defense has picked up too, but said it could be quicker.

“We’re not containing well and reacting slow, but it’s getting better,” he said.

Stinson thinks rebounding will be the difference in the game when the two teams meet Friday. Watkins thinks it will play out like the rivalry normally does — the team that shows up and wants it more will walk away with a win.

“We can’t take any night off. I don’t think we have, in our conference. At this point our guys realize there can’t be a let down. At any one point anybody can beat anybody and you have to look at each game as a one-game season. We’ll have our 32 minutes against them and what we do will be decided by us,” Watkins said.