The Lo-Ellen Park Knights are the team to beat in the SDSSAA Senior Division I Boys Basketball League this year.

Not really much of a revelation in that statement of the obvious.

On a night where the Knights were uncharacteristically bad from beyond the arc (as in 2/29 bad), they still managed to post a nine point win - in a game that never really felt it was at risk.

Lo-Ellen jumped all over the St Benedict Bears at the home of their south-end rivals, bolting to a 22-8 first quarter lead and up 32-21 at the half.

For as much as the Bears actually outscored the Knights 30-28 in the second half, the single digit gap was never prevalent until the very last minute of the game.

Quin Mazzuchin paced the winners with 22 points - 11 in the first quarter alone - with Brayden Legendre netting ten points and Hunter Laplante (9) and Noah Skrobot (8) in hot pursuit.

Phoenix Marks showed the way for St Benedict with a game-high 19 point effort, with teammates Sullivan Smith (13) and Adama Krubally (10) also contributing with regularity.

"To be honest, we shot the ball pretty horribly," noted Hunter Laplante, acknowledging his team's challenges from beyond the arc in spite of the fact that the Knights remain unbeaten at 6-0, with a final game tonight against the Lockerby Vikings (3-3) paving the way to the playoffs.

"That's the worst we've shot all season. We aim for about 40%. We put a lot of work on our shooting in practice, so that's definitely not where we should be at."

After missing most of the schedule last year due to injuries, LaPlante is thrilled to be a key part of the mix of a very deep Lo-Ellen roster, albeit one that is not blessed with a great deal of height.

"I'm focusing on attacking the rim and looking for better shots - and obviously moving the ball," said Laplante. "Sometimes out team lacks in that area and I find that I can really swing it."

"Once one guy gets it moving, it's BBQ chicken from there."

Not entirely sure what that means - though it likely has little to do with the other end of the court, a bigger point of concern (arguably) for Laplante and company.

"When it comes to offense or defense, defense is most important," he stressed. "We know that we can score the ball, but sometimes, we fall asleep on defense. We just need to get it back."