Knights, Lancers to meet in district finals

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

ELIDA – Crestview and Lincolnview will renew their rivalry this Friday in the Division IV district finals as both the Lancers and Knights came through with wins in district semifinal games on Tuesday.

Crestview had to rally from a first-quarter deficit, but the Knights earned a return match-up with Lincolnview in the Division IV district finals with a 61-54 win over Leipsic on Tuesday.

The Crestview victory was fueled offensively by a 28-point performance by senior Connor Lautzenheiser, while Javin Etzler added 13 points, and Cody Mefferd came through with 11 points for the Knights.

Jordan Brown led Leipsic with 22 points, while Ross Mangas added 10 points for the Vikings.

Crestview got out to a slow start and trailed the Vikes by six points, 14-8, at the end of the first 8 minutes of play. The Knights made up for it in the second quarter, outpointing Leipsic 21-14 to lead by a point, 29-28, at halftime.

The lead changed hands a number of times in the second quarter, but Crestview finally went on a 16-12 run in the final stanza to get the win.

The Knights were 28 of 53 in field goal attempts (39.6 percent), and were 7 of 20 from three-point range (35 percent). Leipsic made 21 of 48 from the field (43.8 percent), but made just 2 of 16 shots from behind the arc (12.5 percent). Crestview was 12 of 18 at the free throw line (66.7 percent, while the Vikings made 10 of 14 at the line (71.4 percent).

The Knights were edged in rebounding by Leipsic, 22-19, but Crestview had fewer turnovers, 2-6, in a well-played offensive game by both teams.

In the other district semifinals game, Lincolnview had all it wanted from the Miller City Wildcats but finally broke away in the final stanza for a 52-41 victory.

Hayden Ludwig and Derek Youtsey provided the offensive muscle for the win, with Ludwig leading the Lancers with 16 points — including three treys — while Youtsey added 15 points for Lincolnview. Miller City’s Mark Kuhlman led all scorers with 17 points.

The two teams were knotted up at 8-all at the end of 8 minutes, but the Lancers outscored Miller City by a basket, 16-14, to lead by two, 24-22, at the half. It was a three-point lead, 38-35, at the end of three quarters, but Lincolnview outscored the Wildcats 14-6 in the final stanza for the 11-point win.

The Lancers were 22 of 38 from the field (57.9 percent), including 4 of 9 from three-point range (44.4 percent). Miller City made 15 of 41 field goal attempts (36.5 percent), including a 2-for-15 performance behind the arc (13.3 percent). Lincolnview made all 8 of its free throw attempts (100 percent), while the Wildcats were 9 of 10 (90 percent) from the line.

Both teams had 22 rebounds in the game, while also losing the ball 12 times each.

The Lancers and Knights will meet at 7 p.m. Friday in Elida for a rematch of their Northwest Conference battle on January 22 won by Lincolnview, 60-48.