By Sue Kim After taking a week off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Knights were back in action to play yet another exciting game at Gabrielino High School. Tonight’s game was packed with fans filling every space on the bleachers. Walking into the gym, you could definitely tell that tonight’s game was one that you were glad you didn’t miss. Ryan Starr, one of the finalists from the hit television show “American Idol,” made a special guest appearance to meet with fans and cheer on tonight’s line-up. A new name on the Knight’s roster tonight was Eric Winter from “Days of Our Lives” while up and coming recording artist Ferras sang tonight’s National Anthem. With ten minutes on the board, it was time to get into the first quarter. For most of the quarter, both teams were neck in neck as far as points go; the Gabrielino Eagles faculty just a few points ahead of the Knights. Kiko was at the free throw line making both shots and putting the Knights at 18. Eagle faculty member tried his fancy footwork around Arlen but it proved to be unsuccessful when the ball was knocked out of bounds. The first quarter ended with the Eagles leading; 32-18. Eager to gain control of the board, Wesley, Kiko, Lil’ J, Cylk, and Jesse went in to start the second quarter of the game. Wesley soon put the Knights at 25 by making a two pointer. An Eagle went in for a two point shot following Wesley’s but Wesley blocked the shot to keep the score at 29-25. Lil’ J and Anthony were rotated in during the second. Lil’ J tied up the score to 33-33 soon after he came in by making a two point shot. Eagle faculty member stole the ball from the Knights and took it down court but Kiko stole it right back following a three point shot by Josh. Arlen made the last shot of the quarter leaving the score at 43-49, Knights, at the start of half time. After a performance by Lil’ J and a mad rush at the autograph tables, the second half of the game was in full effect with Kiko, Josh, Wesley, Anthony, and Cylk on the court, ready to go. Although the faculty had possession of the ball at the beginning of the third, it was Josh that made the first shot of the quarter. With a foul called on Wesley, an Eagle was at the line but failed to add any points for his team. A time out was called and it was Arlen, Dejai, Romeo, Mike, and Eric in after the time out. Josh caused quite a commotion when he decided to pass out candy to fans and was mobbed in the midst of his candy throwing. With the third quarter winding down, Lil’ J put the Knights at 77 with just seconds left on the board. With a score of 62-77 in favor of the Knights, it was time to finish off tonight’s game. Before the start of the fourth quarter, a fan tried to make a shot from half court to win a skateboard, but unfortunately missed and walked away with a couple of consolation prizes. The Knights kept their lead with Cylk making the majority of the points in this quarter. Wesley tried to save the ball before it went out of bounds but it ended up in the hands of an Eagle faculty member instead. The Knights called it a victory for the night with a final score of 91-101. Let’s see if the Knights can keep up their winning streak at Saturday’s game against the Glendale Police Association at Glendale High School.

By Jeanne Flores With a new gym to welcome the Hollywood Knights, the Gabrielino High School Faculty Eagles tipped off against Anthony Montgomery, Arlen Excarpeta, Cylk Cozart, the Goodfellas, Jesse Metcalfe, Josh Henderson, Kiko Ellsworth, Lil J, Sammy Lopez, Mike Mizanin, Wesley Jonathan, and newcomer Eric Winter (Rex of Days of Our Lives). Celebrity guests included Ashlee Simpson, Jeff Licon, and Ryan Starr who came fresh off the American Idol tour. Upcoming pop singer Ferras opened up the game with his rendition of the National Anthem, and the game was on its way with Cylk, Wesley, Josh, DeJai, and Eric as the starting line up. The packed gym roared with excited people as their own Eagles took a lead over the Knights. Students grew more excited as the DJ's of Power 106 gave away sweaters and t-shirts. Hector Marquez, boy's basketball coach, stole the ball from Arlen, which created a big "OH!" from the crowd. Anthony was impressed by the coach's skills and took over the microphone."Who's the little dude from the 'and one' video?" asked Anthony. During the second quarter, Lil J joined Anthony on the mic and each took a side of the gym to hold a screaming contest. To excite his side of they gym, Anthony bribed the students with a shirt for Power 106 while Lil J was taking pictures with fans. At the end of the first half, the Knights were able to regain the lead over the Eagles with the score at 43-52. Half time consisted of a performance from Lil J who swooned Rebecca Ybabe, freshmen, as he brought her out on the court and the favorite - autograph signing. The overly excited crowd pushed their way to meet their favorite entertainers including Jesse and Josh, which caused Anthony to stand on the tables asking the crowd to step back a little. Coach Marquez shared his thoughts on Anthony's comments as the "And One kid" during the first quarter, while fans were getting their autographs. "I just play all the time, I'm not trying to embarrass anybody," said Marquez. Josh, Wesley, Kiko, Cylk and Anthony kicked off the second half as the Knights continued to score over the faculty Eagles. While one of the Eagles was at the free throw line, Josh danced to Ashanti's "Foolish" at center court. Once again, Anthony took over the mic and was joined by Kiko as both Knights hyped up the crowd by giving away more shirts. With a new line up on the court, Josh ran across the court to give away some candy wrappers and found himself mobbed by excited fans and had to be fished out by one of the Hollywood Knight security guards. DJ Speed and company threw one red Nike shoe to one side of the gym and the other on the opposite side and the recipients of each shoe (both female) arm wrestled to keep the whole pair. Just before the fourth quarter, the DJ's picked out Jared Kohski, Senior, from the crowd to make a half court shot to earn him a skateboard. After three missed attempts, he received the skateboard anyways, and Mr. Sanin took over the microphone to present the second and first place medals for wrestling to two athletes. Impressed by how many pins the first place winner gained, the DJ's gave him a skateboard as well. Majority of the student body agreed with Jeffery Ley, Junior, as he stated his highlight of the knight, "When Coach Marquez going by one of the players with his 'And One' move." One on One with the Knights Me: How did you sign on with the Hollywood Knights? Eric Winter: They actually contacted me this week to see if I could join. I've been trying to work things out to see if I could come out for a while now, and we finally got things together. M: This being your first game, what did you think of it? E: I thought it was a lot of fun actually. A lot bigger turnout than I expected. M: What is it like to get all this energy from the crowd and to meet all your fans? E: It really pumps you up and I really love meeting the fans because it's a perfect way to give back and see them and thank them for taking the time to watch our show and writing in and everything. Me: How did you sign on with the Hollywood Knights? Ryan Starr: They invited me to come and I just decided to come and hang out and I like basketball. M: What did you think about coming out here to meet your fans? R: It was so much fun. I love meeting the fans, I think they're awesome - especially teenage kids. I mean, I had so much fun hanging out with the kids. I just signed some autographs. M: What will you being doing now that you are off the American Idols tour? R: I'm going to design my clothing line that will be coming out years from now, it's going to take a while, and then I'm going to be doing modeling, acting, and my album will be out next year. Quote of the Knight: "This is seriously one of the best games and one of they hypest games and there was a lot of energy from the crowd and the school." - Kiko Ellsworth

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