The Knights fought their way to 68-47 win over Catoctin in the opening round of the 2A west boys’ basketball playoffs last night; it was Middletown’s first win of the season.

Leading the way for the Knights was MHS senior Ian Grife who finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Junior Bradley Rinehart also had a strong showing as he recorded 16 points and 17 rebounds. Howie Kalamets also finished with a game high 19 points.

The Knights also held Catoctin senior Alex Kennedy, who was coming off of a 37 point game to 11 points. Catoctin was put away by the Knights after a 17-3 run late in the third by Middletown. The 14 point deficit proved to be insermountable for the Cougars.

Middletown fans were in Catoctin players heads all night, and the Catoctin players were unable to focus due to the noise from what seemed to be the largest crowd of the season.

After the buzzer sounded the Knights student section stormed the court as they celebrated their first win of the season.

Middletown will head to Francis Scott Key Thursday to take on a team they lost to 58-53 earlier this season. The Knights will look to get avenge their earlier loss and look for an opportunity to most likely play number one seed Oakdale.