The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Kreischer’s big night trumps the Aces

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — A career night by Carson Kreischer helped Crestview get off to a hot start and the Knights never looked back during Saturday’s 70-45 win over Hicksville.

Crestview (13-4) blistered the nets in the first quarter and played lockdown defense on the way to a commanding 26-6 lead at the end of the period. The 6-3 Kreischer scored 12 of his career high 28 points in the quarter, while Gavin Etzler and Kalen Etzler each scored six in the period.

Carson Kreischer powered to the basket early and often during Saturday’s game against Hicksville. Kreischer finished with a career high 28 points. Wyatt Richardson/file photo

“We knew they were going to switch everything and we thought we could do some things to get one of our guards coming off of Carson and then get the ball into him,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “I think he really took advantage of that in the first half and I thought we did a really good job of finding the mismatch and finding Carson inside when the mismatch happened.”

“I just thought we were really patient, made really good passes and a lot of Carson’s (shots) were point blank or right there at the rim and he did a great job of finishing tonight,” Etzler added.

Hicksville (6-9) did outscore Crestview 15-11 in the second quarter, with Mason Slattery and Landon Turnbull combining for nine points, but the Aces trailed 37-21 at halftime. Gavin Etzler drained three treys in the third quarter and the Knights led 56-34 at the end of the period, then Kreischer put in 10 more in the fourth quarter.

When the dust settled, the Knights hit 28-of-41 (68 percent) of their shots and had turned the ball over just six times. Crestview also won the rebounding battle 19-13, with JJ Ward pulling down seven.

Kalen Etzler finished with 11 points and nine assists and Gavin Etzler rained in 15 points, all from three-point range.

“We moved it well and we trusted each other tonight,” Etzler said. “Kalen’s going to draw a lot of attention and I thought he did a good job of moving the ball. The more he moves the more free everyone else is going to be for us and I think that was a big factor for us also.”

“Gavin struggled early in the season and a lot of times you start thinking about it when you’re a shooter and I told him you’re not going to think your way out of a slump, you have to shoot your way out of it,” Etzer said of his son. “He’s gained some confidence the last four or five games and I’m really proud of him.”

Jackson Bergman led Hicksville with 12 points and Slattery finished with 11, including seven in the first half. The Aces were 19-of-43 from the floor and had eight turnovers in the game.

Crestview is scheduled to host Lincolnview on Friday in a game that will cap off “Rivals United” week between the two county schools, then the Knights will hit the road to play non-conference rival Wayne Trace on Saturday.

“When I played I don’t remember playing these teams in the same week,” Etzler said with a chuckle. “It’s a big weekend for us and I think both games have big implications for our tournament draw so we’re going to have to come prepared and play well against both of them.”

Scoring summary

Crestview 26 11 19 14 – 70
Hicksville 6 15 13 11 – 45

Kalen Etzler 7-2-11; Rontae Jackson 2-1-5; Gavin Etzler 5-0-15; Carson Hunter 1-0-3; Dimitry Lichtensteiger 1-0-2; Brody Brecht 1-0-2; Carson Kreischer 12-4-28; Nathan Lichtle 1-0-2; Nasir Easterling 1-0-2

Hicksville: Aaron Klima 1-0-2; Josh Myers 3-1-7; Brady Balser 2-0-5; Jackson Bergman 5-2-12; Mason Slattery 5-0-11; Landon Turnbull 4-0-8

JV: Crestview 48-26

POSTED: 01/31/21 at 10:00 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports