Knights easily roll past Temple Christian

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

No. 1 seed Crestview posted some impressive numbers during Friday night’s 57-22 Division IV sectional championship win over Temple Christian at Van Wert High School.

Among them – A 29-0 scoring run that spanned parts of the second and third quarters; a 33-13 rebounding advantage, including 20 offensive rebounds, and a defense that forced 25 Pioneer turnovers.

“I was proud of our kids,” Crestview head coach Jeremy Best said. “They did a good job of keeping their composure and staying within themselves and playing the game when there wasn’t flow.”

The Knights led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Temple Christian scored the first five points of the second quarter to pull within three, 16-13. From there, Crestview rattled off the final 15 points of the period to lead 31-13 at halftime.

Kalen Etzler, Wade Sheets, Javin Etzler, Drew Kline, Brant Richardson and Carson Kreischer each hit a two point basket, and Derick Dealey drilled a triple.

Crestview then scored the first 14 points of the third quarter, including a crowd pleasing two handed slam dunk by Javin Etzler, followed by a two handed jam off an offensive rebound by Kalen Etzler. Temple Christian finally got on the board at the 3:38 mark when Brody Bowman scored on a jumper.

In the fourth quarter, Dealey hit a trey that pushed the margin to 53-18 and triggered the continuous clock rule for the remainder of the game. Dealey finished with 11 points, including a trio of three point baskets, while Kreischer led the Knights with 13 points. Javin Etzler tallied 11 points and Kalen Etzler finished with a game high 10 rebounds.

Best lauded the play of Kreischer, along with Colton Lautzenheiser, who played well defensively.

“Those guys at different times have given us good minutes and that’s what you need,” Best said. “You have to keep developing guys off the bench and when our other guys are getting held, tugged, pushed and shoved, those other guys have done a good job of coming in and making plays for us.”

Crestview’s harassing defense held Bowman, who came in averaging 29.5 points per game, to 16 points on the night.

“That was as focus, just to try and make him work,” Best said. “He’s a really good little player and it’s fun to compete against him. He plays hard and just never got tired, which was pretty impressive.”

“I thought our guys challenged him all night and it was fun to see that competition out there,” Best added.

Temple Christian’s season closed at 9-15, while Crestview improved to 22-1 and cut down the nets as sectional champions.

“I told our guys it never gets old (cutting down the nets), but sometimes we’re cautious about celebrating success and I think that’s something I’ve learned through the years too,” Best said. “It’s hard to win, it’s hard to maintain a certain level and those guys deserved that moment, along with our parents, the crowd and our community.”

The Knights, winners of 20 straight, will face Delphos St. John’s at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the district semifinals at the Elida Field House. The two teams met December 28, with Crestview recording a 61-49 victory.

Scoring summary

Crestview 16 15 14 12 – 57
Temple Chris. 8 5 5 4 – 22

Crestview: Kalen Etzler 4-0-8; Wade Sheets 1-0-2; Javin Etzler 4-0-11; Drew Kline 3-0-6; Colton Lautzenheiser 2-0-4; Brant Richardson 1-0-2; Carson Kreischer 6-0-13; Derick Dealey 4-0-11

Temple Christian: Malachi White 1-0-2; Brody Bowman 6-3-16; Dakota Clay 1-0-2; Cody Motter 1-0-2