Knights edge Wayne Trace in thriller

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

HAVILAND — Crestview’s Wren Sheets came up big against Wayne Trace on Saturday.

The 6-6 sophomore hit a basket that tied the game 43-43 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, then slipped behind Raider defenders and took a long inbounds pass from Carson Hunter in for a layup that gave the Knights a thrilling last second 45-43 win over their non-conference rivals. Sheets finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“Wren was huge for us tonight and he is a big key for our team success,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “I thought he did a great job on the offensive boards for us tonight to give us some second chance opportunities.”

Another notable moment came with 5:49 left in the fourth quarter, when Wayne Trace junior guard Brooks Laukhuf scored his 1,000th career point.

“He is the 10th player (in school history) to reach 1,000 points,” Wayne Trace head coach Jim Linder said. “It’s a great achievement for a great young man. We all signed the ball for him in the locker room and Brooks thanked his teammates and coaches for helping him achieve that goal.”

“The good thing is he’s only a junior,” Linder added.

“Unbelievable player,” Etzler said of Laukhuf. “If you can score 1,000 points as a junior, keeping pace with Colin White (Ottawa-Glandorf) who just scored his 1,000th, you have to be a special player. He’s a poised player – he plays within their system and he doesn’t force things.”

Laukhuf scored nine of his 22 points in the opening quarter to help the Raiders to an 11-3 lead at the end of the period. He added five more in the second quarter but the Knights chipped away with a pair of buckets each by Sheets and Kellin Putman and a triple by Isaac Kline to make it a four point game at halftime, 18-14.

“18-14, really ugly first half but we stayed in it and gave ourselves a chance,” Etzler said. “We kind of stood around and settled for three point shots. We weren’t shooting it well and the whole talk at halftime was about moving the ball. We have really good shooters and if we move the basketball and take great shots instead of good shots…I trust every one of these guys.”

Etzler also said he was pleased with his defense his team’s rebounding effort. The Knights won the battle of the boards 37-25.

Sheets scored eight points in the third quarter and Putman added all five of his points to help ease the Knights to a 30-29 lead at the end of the period. Gavin Etzler also drained a trey in the quarter. Wayne Trace’s Kyle Stoller scored five of his team’s 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Crestview finished the game 19-of-49 from the floor and 4-of-10 from the free throw line, compared to 18-of-47 and 3-of-7 by Wayne Trace. The Knights turned the ball over 13 times, while the Raiders had just seven turnovers.

“I’m very proud of my kids for how hard they played,” Linder said. “Two really good teams battled it out and it came down to a last second shot. I thought our effort was tremendous.”

Both teams will hit the road on Friday – Crestview will play at Delphos Jefferson and Wayne Trace will play at Antwerp.

Box score

Knights 3 11 16 15 – 45
Raiders 11 7 11 14 – 43

Crestview: Gavin Etzler 1-2-5; Kellin Putman 2-1-5; Isaac Kline 1-0-3; Mitch Temple 2-0-5; Carson Hunter 3-1-7; Jaret Harting 1-0-2; Wren Sheets 8-0-16; Nasir Easterling 1-0-2

Wayne Trace: Hudson Myers 1-0-2; Tanner Laukhuf 1-0-3; Cale Winans 1-0-2; Brooks Laukhuf 10-0-22; Tyler Davis 1-1-3; Kyle Stoller 4-2-11

JV: Crestview 50-33