Delphos Jefferson beats Crestview 50-41

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — Delphos Jefferson took advantage of Crestview mistakes, then held the Knights without a basket for the final 4:55 of the game on the way to a 50-41 Northwest Conference victory at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Friday.

“I was very impressed with Delphos Jefferson and their toughness tonight,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “Their kids took it at our guys and I thought they did that for four quarters. We got off to a really good start, but I think it came down to toughness and I think they were tougher than us tonight.”

The Knights raced out to an early 6-0 lead, then later enjoyed an 11-5 advantage before the Delphos Jefferson’s Hunter Mericle and Trent Teman scored back-to-back baskets off from Crestview turnovers. A foul shot by Kaden Short and a basket by JJ Ward gave the Knights a 14-9 lead, but the Wildcats scored the final six points of the quarter, including a free throw and bucket off a steal by Mericle.

A free throw by Brody Brecht and a slam dunk by Kalen Etzler put the Knights ahead 17-14 early in the second quarter, but Colin Bailey answered with a trey. Gavin Etzler scored the next five points for Crestview and the game was tied 22-22 with 3:45 left until halftime. Delphos Jefferson took the lead for good after that, with Bailey hitting a pair of baskets to help give the Wildcats a 28-24 halftime lead. Bailey scored seven of his nine points in the period.

“Colin Bailey did a real good job tonight, getting some effort plays and loose balls, getting some rebounds,” Delphos Jefferson head coach Jordan Jettinghoff said.

“They scored 10 or 12 points off our turnovers and they also did a great job of offensive rebounding, and those two things hurt us a lot in the first half,” Etzler said. “Credit to them, they got the steals and they attacked the basket and scored.”

“We took advantage of a couple of turnovers and got some easy layups and got our momentum going,” Jettinghoff said.

Kalen Etzler, who finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, opened the third quarter with an offensive rebound and two handed dunk, but Ian Wannemacher scored all eight of his points in the period, including a buzzer beater that gave the Wildcats a 42-35 lead.

A triple by Kalen Etzler and a layup by Michael Joseph pulled Crestview to within two, 42-40 with 5:05 left in the game, but the bucket was the final one for the Knights. Two foul shots by Mericle and a trey by Teman gave the Wildcats a 47-40 lead with 3:10 left. Crestview had chances, but missed two layups, had a shot blocked and missed several perimeter shots, and didn’t score again until Gavin Etzler converted a free throw with 24 seconds left.

“At some point this year our guys have to come and compete for four quarters,” Etzler said. “I think we looked at Delphos Jefferson as a game that we thought we should win, but we didn’t prepare well enough and didn’t play hard enough to win. They’re scrappy tough nosed kids and you could tell they really wanted it.”

Crestview (4-9, 1-3 NWC) is scheduled to play at Arlington tonight. Delphos Jefferson (5-8, 3-0 NWC) will return to action at home against Paulding on Friday.

Scoring summary

Crestview 14 10 11 6 – 41
Jefferson 15 13 14 8 – 50

Crestview: Kalen Etzler 5-1-13; Kaden Short 0-1-1; Gaven Etzler 2-1-6; Brody Brecht 2-1-5; Michael Joseph 1-0-2; Carson Kreischer 4-0-8; JJ Ward 3-0-6

Delphos Jefferson: Colin Bailey 4-2-9; Trent Teman 4-0-9; Ian Wannemacher 4-0-8; Damon Wiltsie 1-0-2; Logan Herron 1-0-2; Logan Hubert 1-0-2; Ashton Moore 1-0-2; Hunter Mericle 4-4-12; Doug Long Jr. 2-0-4

JV: Crestview 44-22