Raiders, Knights win non-league contests

Van Wert independent sports

It wasn’t easy either time, but the Wayne Trace Raiders again defeated the Lincolnview Lancers 45-42 in a non-conference boys’ basketball game played Saturday.

The first time the two teams played was in the Van Wert County Hospital Tip-Off Tournament, when Wayne Trace squeaked by a point, 58-57, in that game, so Saturday’s three-point margin must have seemed like a lot — in retrospect, that is.

Raider Dalton Sinn was the game’s high scorer with 16 points, while Corbin Linder had 12 points on the night. Sloan Whitaker led Lincolnview with 14 points, while Clayton Longstreth had 10 points for the Lancers.

The game was tied at 10-all at the end of the first period, while Lincolnview outscored the Raiders 13-6 in the second quarter to lead by seven points, 23-16, at the half.

The third quarter belonged to Wayne Trace, which poured in 15 points while holding the Lancers to 7 in the quarter to lead by a point, 31-30, heading into the final stanza.

It was nip and tuck all the way in the fourth period, but the Raiders pulled it out in the final minute as Sinn scored a two-pointer and Nick McClain made two of his four points on free throws in the final seconds for the victory.

Both teams are now 2-3 overall on the year, while the Lancers are 1-0 in Northwest Conference play. The Raiders haven’t begun league play yet.

Wayne Trace was also the victor in the junior varsity game, downing the Lancers 45-32 in JV play.

Crestview’s Nick Adam scored 19 points to lead the Knights to a 53-36 non-conference win over Parkway on Saturday night. Adam was the only Crestview player in double figures, although Dallis Gibson added 9 points for the Knights. High scorer for the Panthers was Riley Bransteter, who pumped in 17 points as the only Parkway player in double figures.

The Knights led after one quarter, 12-8, and were still up by only three, 27-24, at the half. But then the Crestview defense kicked in as the Knights outscored Parkway 26-12 in the second half for the win.