OAKLEAF - The Oakleaf High boys basketball team welcomed in the Clay High's Blue Devils for a Friday night match in the Palace at Oakleaf and more so turned the court into a dungeon for the Blue Devils. The Knights wasted no time quickly building a double-digit lead on the Blue Devils with 21 points alone from outside the arc led by point guard Aaron Rivers with five 3-pointers of his own. Oakleaf held Clay at arm’s length all four quarters to keep the Knights's winning streak from December 29, now at six games in a row, the second longest in school history, as they head into the Martin Luther King tournament.

“Our starting group got us off to a great start tonight,” said Oakleaf Head Coach Jason Price. “We again got after it in the third quarter, and we’ve been playing well. Our captains have taken over some leadership roles and it shows. Now it’s just a matter of continuing to be consistent, and continue with the type of defense we have in the past, and this is just the tip of the iceberg of what these kids can do. I love it.”
As the teams competed, Clay was first on the board at 7:02 before Oakleaf warmed up and went on an absolute tear in the first quarter with Rivers picking up two of his three-pointers, backed up by Jelani Wright hitting from outside. When the dust settled after the first stanza, the Knights, led by Rivers’ 10 points, were already up 23-11.
“You have to show up with the right mentality,” said Clay Head Coach Jared Moses. “We didn’t show up with the right mentality tonight and that’s going to be the result right there when you play a team like Oakleaf.”
Clay stopped a three-game slide just 24 hours prior with a win over cross-town rival Middleburg. The team knew if they didn’t play lights-out defense against the Knights, it would be a hard, uphill battle.
Oakleaf played a strong zone defense most of the night, and when pressure was needed, turned up the wick with some heavy pressure man-to-man which resulted in several Clay turnovers, cashed in by the Knights. Six foot-six-inch Austin Davenport had two dramatic slams off steals to light the room on fire.
The Knights worked in the deep bench players in the second quarter, testing who is ready to step up. The Blue Devils used the opportunity to get somewhat back into the game, outscoring Oakleaf in the second quarter 10-9 as Oakleaf still had a commanding lead of 32-21 at the break.
The third quarter was nothing but the Aaron Rivers show, including another three, 3-point shots on his way to adding 15 points to the Knights 28 point third quarter, smothering the Blue Devils 60-28.
The Knights again went deep on the bench for the final quarter, still adding nine more points while holding the Blue Devils to 11 to finish the 69-39 victory.
“This group is one of the better shooting teams I ever had, period,” said Price. “They are starting to learn the defensive side the way we are capable of doing it. We have a more explosive offensive team, that’s learning to play the defensive side of the ball in the last 10 games at a high level.”
Looking forward to the tournament, opening against University Christian, Price said “I’m excited about the opportunity” knowing the team has a pair of new 6'9"  transfers he’ll face. “They will be a surprise team in the second half of this season.”