Knights head to state with win over WT

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

BOWLING GREEN — It was another classic defensive battle, but the Crestview Knights defeated Wayne Trace for the third time this year, 44-34, to advance to the final four in Division IV.

The Knights did it with excellent defense, holding the Linder brothers, Ethan and Corbin, who scored 62 points together on Tuesday, to a total of 19 on Friday.

In fact, Ethan Etzler, who was double teamed in the first half, had just two free throws in the half and a total of nine points for the game. The Raiders were held to 10 of 37 shooting from the field (27 percent), while Crestview, which struggled from three-point range (3 of 16), hit 11 of 23 two-point attempts for a 35.9 percent overall field goal shooting ratio.

Both teams shot well from the line. The Knights were 13 of 19 (68.4 percent), while Wayne Trace hit 12 of 14 free throw attempts (85.7 percent).

Rebounding was about even, with Crestview bringing down 30 boards to 28 for the Raiders. The Knights had fewer turnovers as well, 8-14.

Although the game was held up for about 20 minutes because game officials were stuck in traffic, Crestview got out to a quick start and took an 11-point lead, 13-2, at the end of the quarter. It was 23-14 at the half and 29-23 at the three-quarter point.

As he has most of the year, Damian Helm led the Knights with 16 points while Tyson Bolenbaugh added 13 points, including a 7-of-8 performance from the free throw line. Corbin Linder was Wayne Trace’s top scorer with 10 points.

The Knights (27-0) now face a tough opponent in the state semifinals in New Madison Tri-Village (26-1). That game will be played at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Columbus.