CRESTVIEW-The boy’s Northwest Conference opener took place at Crestview where the Knights hosted the Spencerville Bearcats. Crestview was able to rally in the final quarter to hold off the visitors 46-44.
“We knew this was one of the toughest matchups that we were going to have all year with the guards that they have,” said Crestview head coach Doug Etzler. “They can shoot and have two 6’4” guys inside. I was really pleased with how we prepared for this game.”
Crestview and Spencerville struggled for dominance in the first quarter as both teams looked to establish identity in the contest. The Knights started with a bucket by Mitch Temple, but Spencerville responded with three pointers by Tyler Koenig and Josh Henline to give the Bearcats a 6-2 lead. Crestview found their mark from the three point line, and went on to hit five of them–including two from Carson Hunter–to build a 17-10 lead. Henline hit two foul shots to end the first quarter and the Knights led 17-12.
The high octane energy continued in the second quarter. The Bearcats got a bucket from Eli Harter to get within three at 17-14, and Dylan Cook basket cut the deficit to one at 17-16, but the spark plug belonged to Crestview’s Rontae Jackson. He scored six points in the quarter thanks to key steals and the hosts led 27-23 at halftime.
“We have played four games this year and this was the first game we have gotten off to a good start,” Etzler said. “We were locked in tonight and hit some big shots in the first half.”
The Bearcats came out of the locker room break with a 7-0 run. A basket by Harter cut the deficit to two at 27-25 and a bucket by Carter Sudhoff tied the game at 27. Dylan Smith connected on a three pointer to give them a 30-27 lead that forced a Crestview timeout. Spencerville finished the quarter with three pointers by Evan Osting and Koenig to give them a 38-35 lead.
The seesaw battle continued in the final quarter as both teams left it all on the line. A Koenig basket gave the visitors a 40-35 lead, but the hosts responded with a basket by Gavin Etzler and a free throw from Jackson. With 6:04 left, they trailed 40-38. Henline extended the Bearcat lead to 43-38 on a three pointer, but the rest of the quarter belonged to the hosts. A Jackson bucket trimmed the deficit to three at 43-40, and they tied the game with a three pointer by Nate Lichtle. Crestview scored their final points on a three pointer by Etzler with 4:41 remaining in the game. Spencerville was able to keep their hopes alive in the final minutes as they forced key turnovers, but untimely suffered from turnovers of their own.
Henline was fouled with five seconds left and was sent for two free throws. Henline made the first to trail 46-44 and missed the second shot on purpose. An offensive rebound by Henline gave him another chance, but the shot fell short, resulting in a jump ball with 0.1 left on the clock. The Bearcats tried to use their size, but Harter’s tip-in fell short and the Knights defeated Spencerville 46-44.
“We did a good job of hanging on to the ball tonight until the last 45 seconds of the game. We had the ball in the right people’s hands, but going forward we just have to finish the game better. We need to hit key free throws down the stretch,” Etzler concluded.
Crestview improves to 3-1 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Fort Jennings. Spencerville drops to 3-1 on the season and will be back on Saturday when they travel to take on Ottoville.
Spencerville 12 – 11 – 15 – 6 – 44
Crestview 17 – 10 – 8 – 11 – 46
Spencerville (44)
Josh Henline (10) Tyler Koenig (10) Eli Harter (10) Dylan Smith (5) Dylan Cook (4) Evan Osting (3) Carter Sudhoff (2)
Crestview (46)
Rontae Jackson (14) Carson Hunter (11) Gavin Etzler (10) Nate Lichtle (9) Mitch Temple (2)
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