Crestview wins sectional thriller 55-52

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Survive and advance – that’s exactly what No. 1 seed Crestview did Friday night.

JJ Ward’s triple at the buzzer in overtime gave the Knights a 55-52 Division IV sectional championship win over upset minded Patrick Henry at Van Wert High School. Ward launched the game winner from near the top of the key.

“It was great to see JJ make such a big shot to end it,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “He has barreled through an injury and surgery and has stayed the course and came through in the clutch for us tonight.”

Crestview overcame a slow start to get the win. The Knights were down 13-2 in the first quarter before closing the gap to 15-8 at the end of the first period. Patrick Henry’s Aiden Behrman drained a pair of treys and Lincoln Creager scored five of his game high 17 points in the quarter.

“Early on Patrick Henry had some role players step up and hit big shots for them to get them off to a great start,” Etzler said. “They played so physical early on and their length bothered us until we were able to make some adjustments.”

Ward and Nate Lichtle each hit a trey in the third quarter to help the Knights trim the deficit to 22-18 at halftime, but the fifth-seeded Patriots scored the first five points of the third quarter to push the advantage to 27-18. However, Wren Sheets scored five points in the period and Lichtle drilled another triple to help the narrow the deficit to three, 33-30 at the end of the quarter.

“We got into foul trouble but just kept chipping away and believing in each other,” Etzler said. “I’m proud of the kids for battling all night.”

Rontae Jackson hit a pair of three pointers in the fourth quarter and Wren Sheets converted a pair of foul shots to tie the game 44-44, then Carson Hunter swished in a trey to give the Knights their first lead of the game, 47-44. Sheets led Crestview with 13 points and eight rebounds while Jackson added 12 points.

Creager’s final basket of regulation tied the game 50-50 and forced the extra session.

In terms of stats, the two teams were nearly identical. Crestview was 18-of-35 from the floor and 13-of-21 from the free throw line with 19 rebounds, while Patrick Henry was 18-of-35 shooting and 12-of-16 from the foul line with 20 rebounds.

Crestview (16-6) will face Ottoville in the Division IV district semifinals at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Elida. The sixth-seeded Big Green defeated No. 4 seed Pandora-Gilboa 44-31 to advance to Tuesday’s game.

Box score

Knights 8 10 12 20 5 – 55
Patriots 15 7 11 17 2 – 52

Crestview: Gavin Etzler 1-1-3; Rontae Jackson 3-4-12; Mitch Temple 3-2-8; Carson Hunter 2-0-5; JJ Ward 2-0-6; Nate Lichtle 2-2-8; Wren Sheets 5-3-13

Patrick Henry: Gavin Jackson 2-3-7; Will Seedorf 1-0-2; Kaden Rosebrook 1-0-2; Landon Johnson 2-0-4; Lincoln Creager 5-6-17; Aiden Behrman 5-2-14; Nash Meyer 2-2-6