Knights honor state team, crush Aces

Crestview boys’ basketball news

CONVOY — The Crestview Knights boys’ basketball team honored the 2003 Division IV state runner-up boys’ team and then showed why they might have the right stuff themselves with a crushing 72-26 victory over Hicksville on Saturday.

The Knights, who wore the team jerseys from the 2002-2003 season, had 13 players on the scoreboard, but only one, Tyson Bolenbaugh, was in double figures, with 12 points. Two players, Isaiah Simerman and Preston Zaleski, nearly made it with 9 points apiece. Crestview had a hot hand in the field, knocking down 26 of 41 field goal attempts (61.9 percent), including 9 of 17 from beyond the arc (52.9 percent).

The Knights were not as impressive at the line, hitting 11 of 19 free throw attempts (57.9 percent). Hicksville, hounded by the Knights’ defense all night, made just 9 of 26 field goal attempts (34.6 percent), and were just 1 of 6 from three-point range (16.7 percent). The Aces made half of their free throws (7 of 14) on the night.

Although the rebounding game was close, with Crestview having a 20-19 edge on the boards, the Knights’ pressure defense reaped lots of benefits, including a 7-21 difference in turnovers and 11 steals to just 5 for Hicksville.

With the win, Crestview is now 15-2 on the season, while the Aces fall to 5-12 overall.

The Knights will next host Bluffton in a Northwest Conference game on Friday and then travel to Wayne Trace for a non-conference contest on Saturday.