Crestview grinds out win over Celina

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Crestview held Celina scoreless in overtime and the Knights managed to get by the upset minded Bulldogs 48-40 on Senior Night at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Saturday night.

The win improved Crestview’s overall record to 12-4, while Celina fell to 4-9. It was the first overtime loss in three games for the Bulldogs.

“I give a lot of credit to Celina,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “They came in with a good game plan. They really mixed up their defenses and made things tough for us offensively, and Celina did a good job of being patient and hitting shots tonight.”

The Bulldogs began the fourth quarter with a 33-31 lead and with three minutes left in regulation, Celina was ahead 37-33. That’s when the Knights went on a 7-3 run to tie the game and force an extra period. From there, Kalen Etzler, who finished with a game high 17 points and 13 rebounds, hit a basket and JJ Ward and Carson Kreischer each hit a pair of foul shots and the Knights kept the visitors off the scoreboard in the overtime period.

“I thought defensively in the second half we steppted up and really guarded and made things a little tougher for them,” Etzler said of his team. “I’m really proud of our guys for grinding out a tough win when we didn’t shoot the ball as well as we have been.”

The foul line turned out to be a key factor in the game. Crestview converted 16-of-22 free throws, while Celina went to the line just three times and converted one.

The two teams were neck-and-neck for most of the game. Gavin Etzler connected on three treys in the first quarter and Kalen Etzler added four points, but Crestview led by just one, 15-14 at the end of the opening period and the lead remained at one, 25-24 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Kreischer scored five of his 11 points, while Celina’s Josh Rasawehr scored four of his team high 13 points.

Celina is scheduled to host Defiance on Friday and Crestview is currently slated to host Hicksville on Saturday.

Scoring summary

Crestview 15 10 6 9 8 – 48
Celina HS 14 10 9 7 0 – 40

Crestview: Kalen Etzler 4-9-17; Gavin Etzler 4-0-12; JJ Ward 1-4-6; Carson Kreischer 4-3-11; Nathan Lichtle 1-0-2

Celina: Jack Duncan 4-1-11; Reeves Black 3-0-6; Connor Nuding 1-0-3; Dylan Feister 1-0-3; Quinn Andrew 2-0-4; Josh Rasawehr 6-0-13