Knights overcome Kalida for district win
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
ELIDA — The Crestview Knights made clutch free throws late in the fourth quarter and held off a physical Kalida Wildcats team 41-37 in last night’s Division IV district semifinal game at the Elida Fieldhouse.
The Knights (17-6) will play Delphos St. John’s for the district title Friday night back at Elida. The Blue Jays (18-4) advanced with a 53-31 win over Continental.
Tuesday’s win wasn’t an easy one for Crestview, with the lead still changing hands late in the game. A bucket by Kalida’s Noah Lambert gave the Wildcats a 36-35 lead with 2:25 left in the fourth period. It would be the final basket the Wildcats would hit in the game.
Crestview’s Derek Stout drilled two free throws with 2:04 left, then Brett Schumm hit two more with 1:20 remaining to give the Knights a 39-36 lead. Kalida’s Owen Recker connected on a charity toss with 1:01 left, then Spencer Rolsten calmly hit two to seal the victory for Crestview
“Our guys just locked on,” Crestview head coach Jeremy Best said of his team’s play late in the game. “They did a good job of not letting them turn the corner, not letting them get off a three, and closing off all the gaps.”
The Knights led 12-5 at the end of the first quarter, with Wade Sheets accounting for half of those points. Sheets led all scorers with 17.
Kalida (12-13) opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to tie the game, before the Knights got back-to-back baskets by Sheets and Javin Etzler to go up 16-12. Those would be the only points of the quarter for Crestview, while Kalida managed just one more score, a trey by Recker.
The third quarter saw three ties, but not much scoring. Etzler and Stout each hit a pair of baskets, while Sheets had a bucket and a free throw. The Wildcats had just three baskets in the quarter, but two were triples — one each by Trent Sieberneck and Lambert.
It appeared the Knights might pull away early in the final quarter. Already leading 27-24, Stout hit back-to-back free throws and Sheets scored to give Crestview a 31-24 lead with 6:10 left. However, the Wildcats fought back with a charity toss by Collin Nartker, then consecutive treys by Grant Laudick and Siebeneck.
“I was proud of our kids for being as physical as their bodies would allow them to be, and still maintain control and play basketball,” Coach Best said. “Overall it was a nice team effort, and I’m proud of our guys.”
Friday’s district championship game against Delphos St. John’s will tip off at 6:15 Friday night. It can be heard live on WKSD 99.7, and will stream live on The Van Wert Independent (www.thevwindependent.com).
The winner of the game will advance to next Tuesday’s regional semifinal game at Bowling Green State University, and will play Holgate or Ayersville.
Box score:
Kalida 5 10 9 13–-37
Crestview 12 4 11 14–-41
Kalida (37) — Trent Siebeneck 8, Noah Lambert 7, Grant Laudick 4, Collin Nartker 9, Owen Recker 7, Trevor Lambert 2.
Crestview (41) — Wade Sheets 17, Derek Stout 12, Javin Etzler 8, Spencer Rolsten 2, Brett Schumm 2.
POSTED: 03/08/17 at 8:28 am. FILED UNDER: Sports