Knights beat Jefferson; Etzler wins 200th

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — It was a milestone night for Crestview head coach Doug Etzler.

His Knights earned a 58-47 Northwest Conference win over visiting Delphos Jefferson, giving Etzler his 200th career victory. The 1991 Crestview High School graduate led Teays Valley for 14 seasons before returning home in 2019.

“It’s special being able to get my 200th win at Crestview,” Etzler said. “I have been blessed with great assistant coaches, administration, players and support from my family.”

As far as the game, the Knights (9-4, 4-1 NWC) found themselves down 14-12 after the first quarter, with Colin Bailey scoring eight points in the period, while Carson Hunter countered with five. Gavin Etzler drilled a pair of treys in the second quarter and Mitch Temple added four points to help Crestview to a 29-25 halftime advantage.

Hunter added six more in the third quarter, including four from the foul line and Nate Lichtle drained one of his three triples to help the Knights to a 42-36 advantage entering the final period. Crestview converted 7-of-9 free throws in the fourth quarter to help secure the win.

Hunter led Crestview with 13 points, Wren Sheets tallied 12, Etzler added 11 and Temple finished with 10. In addition, Lichtle finished with nine.

“I thought we did a good job of sharing the basketball and getting everyone involved offensively,” Etzler said. “We had a good mix of three point shots, inside scores and getting to the free throw line.”

Bailey led all scorers with 14, Trent Teman finished with 13, including eight in the final quarter, and Levi Rode added 10.

“Delphos was a tough matchup for us defensively,” Etzler said. “They all can handle it and shoot it but for the most part I thought we were pretty solid defensively.”

Both teams are in action tonight, with Delphos Jefferson (4-10, 1-3 NWC) hosting Ayersville and Crestview traveling to Celina.

Box score

Crestview 12 17 13 16 – 58
Jefferson 14 11 12 11 – 47

Crestview: Gavin Etler 3-2-11; Rontae Jackson 0-1-1; Mitch Temple 4-2-10; Carson Hunter 2-8-13; Nate Lichtle 3-0-9; Nasir Easterling 1-0-2; Wren Sheets 4-4-12

Delphos Jefferson: Coln Bailey 6-1-14; Trent Teman 4-5-13; Andrew Miller 2-0-4; Isaac Gallmeier 2-0-6; Levi Rode 4-1-10

JV: Crestview 55-17