Etzler’s shot sends Crestview to regionals

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

ELIDA — Just call them “The Kardiac Knights.”

Javin Etzler hit three triples in the final 2:37, including the game winner from the top of the key as time expired, and the Crestview Knights stunned the Hicksville Aces 43-42 to win the Division IV district championship at Elida on Friday night.

“I just kept my feet set because I knew I was going to have to be the last one to take that shot,” Etzler said. “It felt good and it just so happened that it went in.”

“It’s a scramble situation,” head coach Jeremy Best said of the game’s waning seconds. “We didn’t have any timeouts and we actually practice that, where we call it a second possession, a scramble situation where you have to see what you can get. You really can’t run a set play.”

Crestview trailed 38-26 to start the fourth quarter, but slowly chipped away. Hicksville tried to work on the clock and didn’t score until the 2:55 mark of the period. Drew Kline started the rally with a layup and two free throws, then Derek Stout scored on an assist from Etzler to trim the deficit to 38-32 with 4:20 left.

A left corner trey by Michael Myers extended Hicksville’s lead to 41-32, but Etzler knocked down back to back triples in less than a minute to pull the Knights to within three, 41-38. Parker Thiel hit one of two foul shots with 1:30 left to make it a two possession game, but Derick Dealey countered with layup with 44 seconds left made it 42-40. After that, the Aces missed two crucial free throws, and Wade Sheets pulled down an offensive rebound off a missed Crestview shot, setting up Etzler’s heroics.

“I’m so proud of our team, but Javin has come a long way since he’s been a freshman,” Best said. “He’s our guy and he showed it tonight and I was just tickled for him.”

The two teams played to a 21-21 stalemate by halftime, but Hicksville dominated the third quarter and outscored the Knights 17-5. Freshman Landon Turnbull knocked down three treys in the period, while Payton Tunis connected for five points.

“I thought we had energy, but I thought we just couldn’t get into a flow, and a lot of that was a credit to Hicksville,” Best said. “They’ve got five guys who can handle the basketball, and they “They shot it incredibly well in the third quarter.”

Etzler finished with a game high 14 points, while Myers led Hicksville with 13 points.

Crestview (22-3) will play Maumee Valley Country Day in the Division IV regional semifinals at Bowling Green State University on Tuesday night. It’ll be the second game (approximately 8 p.m.), after Pandora Gilboa and Mohawk.

Scoring summary:

Crestview 13 8 5 17 – 43
Hicksville 12 9 17 4 – 42

Crestview: Wade Sheets 3-1-7; Javin Etzler 5-1-14; Drew Kline 2-2-6; Derek Stout 4-0-8; Derick Dealey 1-2-4; Trevor Gibson 1-0-2; Kalen Etzler 1-0-2

Hicksville: Payton Tunis 5-0-12; Michael Myers 5-1-13; Jake Greer 1-2-5; Parker Thiel 1-0-3; Landon Turnbull 3-3-9