TUSTIN — In a game in which runs were infrequent and both teams kept to a half-court style of offense, the player who made the greatest impact was Danny Kennard, the 6-foot-11 center for the Foothill basketball team.

Kennard scored 16 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, had four blocked shots, one assist and a steal to lead the Knights to 48-36 victory over crosstown rival Tustin in a nonleague game Friday at Foothill High School.

“He’s a tough guard,” Foothill coach Yousof Etemadi said. “He’s kind of our anchor and he does a lot for us. Since it’s a rivalry game, it’s always a grind-it-out game. It doesn’t matter what the records are and no matter what happens. So, I thought we did a really good job just withstanding the pressure and defending the entire game.”

The Knights (9-3), who are ranked No. 13 in Orange County, have held opponents to less than 50 points in three of their last four games.

Kennard had to fight through double teams to get into the low post for most of the contest.

“I’ve been scoring a lot of points recently, so obviously the defense on me was going to be played a little different,” Kennard said. “They made it really tough on me, being physical with me the whole game, but we just kept going at them, lots of effort, and it worked out in the end.”

Foothill held the No. 25 Tillers (9-3) to six points from the field in the first quarter, three from the field in the second quarter and six from the field in the third quarter.

Foothill led 34-22 early in the fourth quarter when Tustin’s Daniel Molina hit a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get the Tillers to within six.

Braeden Davidson answered for the Knights, hitting a basket and a free throw after being fouled on the play.

The Knights then went on an 8-1 run, the largest run of the game by either team, to go ahead 45-31 with just under two minutes remaining.

Senior guard Lorenzo Turner also scored 26 for Foothill, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Ethan Contreras scored 12 to lead Tustin.

“It’s an amazing atmosphere for these kids to play in,” Etemadi said. “It’s a tight game. It’s fun and we’re just glad we came out on top.”

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