Lancers, Knights win, VW loses last game

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

Two of three local teams ended their regular season on a winning note, with Lincolnview and Crestview getting Northwest Conference victories on Friday.

Lincolnview’s Chayten Overholt scored 25 points to lead his Lancers to a 66-61 win over Paulding at home. Ryan Rager added 11 points for Lincolnview, while Ethan Kemler added 9 points, and Caden Ringwald and Tristin Miller each scored 8 points in the contest.

The game was even at 42-all heading into the final quarter, but Overholt scored 8 of his 25 points in that quarter to lead a 24-19 run that put the Lancers over the hump.

Lincolnview overcame the Panthers’ hot hand in the first half, and ratcheted down the defense make the going tougher for Paulding.

The Lancers led 18-15 after one quarter, but a 13-7 second-quarter run put Paulding up 28-25 at the half.

Leading the Panthers was Ethan Rhonehouse, with 22 points, while Preston Ingol added 17 points for Paulding.

Lincolnview ends its regular season at 10-12, 4-4 in the NWC, while Paulding is 6-16 and 3-5 in league play. The Lancers will begin sectional tournament play at 8 p.m. Tuesday against Antwerp in the Van Wert Division IV sectional tournament.

Crestview parlayed two big runs into a 49-36 NWC victory over Bluffton on Friday. The Knights led 14-2 after a quarter, and were up by six points, 24-18, at the half. A big 16-7 third-quarter run gave Crestview a 15-point lead, 40-25, heading into the final stanza.

Javin Etzler led all scorers with 15 points, while Derek Stout added 10 points for the Knights. Kaleb Jefferson and Zane Myers each had 8 points to lead the Pirates.

Crestview is now 15-6 overall and finished second in the NWC behind Spencerville with a 7-1 record. Bluffton finishes the year at 11-11 and a 4-4 conference record

Van Wert hung in tough against WBL runner-up Wapakoneta, but the Redskins won by 10 points, 52-42, at the Cougars’ Den.

Jacoby Kelly and Drew Bagley each had 12 points to lead Van Wert, while Nate Schroer was the game’s top scorer with 16 points, followed by Nick Schoonover, who scored 14 points for Wapak.

The first half was a rocky one for the Cougars, who were outscored 32-18 in the half. Van Wert went on a 16-8 run in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six, 40-34, heading into the final stanza. The Cougars just couldn’t generate enough offense, though, in the final stanza and were outscored 12-8 in the quarter.

Van Wert is now 12-10 and 4-5 in the WBL, while Wapakoneta ends its season at 20-2 overall and 8-1 in league play, finishing behind Ottawa-Glandorf.

The Cougars were 14 of 33 from the field (32.5 percent), including 3 of 9 from three-point range (33.3 percent). Van Wert made 11 of 17 free-throw attempts (64.7 percent). The Redskins were 13 of 40 from the field (32.5 percent), but made 7 of 17 from behind the arc (41.2 percent). Wapakoneta was 7 of 9 from the line (77.8 percent).

The Cougars were out rebounded, 17-19, and also had five more turnovers, 16-11.

Van Wert will next play on Tuesday, starting at 8:15 p.m., against St. Marys in the Division II sectional tournament at Paulding.