On Jan. 8, the No. 1-ranked Pace Knights headed to Lovett for a pivotal region matchup. The first quarter was electric as the Knights came out firing on all cylinders. Senior Cole Middleton scored early over Lovett's 7-foot center and followed it up with two 3-pointers. Senior Matthew Cleveland had a 3 pointer of his own and then threw down a thunderous dunk. Junior Josh Reed had it going, too; connecting on a 3-pointer and two lay-ups.  

The Knights led 25-10 after the quarter. Lovett started the second quarter on a 10-2 run, and their outside shooting narrowed the margin to a 38-27 Pace lead at halftime. An early opportunity to put the Lions away was unsuccessful as the Knights missed several makeable shots in the third. The rivalry game went to the fourth quarter with Pace up 49-41. Cleveland knocked down two jump shots early in the quarter, and Middleton had a finish, but the Lions narrowed the margin to 1 point after three consecutive 3-pointers. With less than a minute to go, senior Madison Durr made two free throws, and a Cleveland steal led to a Reed lay-up. Cleveland secured the 64-60 win with two free-throws.  

Key performers included Middleton (18 points, 12 rebounds), Reed (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists), Cleveland (15 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) and Durr (11 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals).