Taller Knights defeat Lancers 63-43

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Crestview raced out to a sizable first quarter lead and the Knights defeated Lincolnview 63-43 at Lincolnview High School on Friday night. The game capped off “Rivals United” week, an annual fundraising competition between the schools with proceeds benefiting the United Way of Van Wert County.

The Knights bolted out to a 17-4 lead with 2:35 left in the first quarter, but the Lancers scored the final eight points of the period, including treys by Cal Evans and Reide Jackson to close the gap to 17-12. Connor Sheets scored eight of Crestview’s 17 first quarter points.

“I was pleased with the way we started both halves tonight,” Crestview head coach Doug Etzler said. “We were aggressive offensively and did a good job of getting shots in the paint and used our size advantage.”

“We knew tonight was going to be a challenge with the size difference between them and us,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “They did a good job of getting the ball inside and scoring. We allowed too many second chance points and that hurt us.”

Crestview (14-7, 5-2 NWC) opened the second quarter with an 8-2 scoring run to make it 25-14, but the Lancers (4-16, 0-7 NWC) battled back to make it 27-21 before the Knights scored the final six points of the period.

“We were able to get ourselves back in the game in the second but we just made too many errors and that allowed it to get back to double digits,” Hammons said.

Any hopes of a Lancer comeback were dashed in the third quarter, as the Knights outscored Lincolnview 16-8, including a buzzer-beating layup by Tommy Heffner. Sheets added six more points in the period and finished with a game high 20 points. Wren Sheets hit double digits with 11 points plus seven rebounds and Hayden Perrott added nine points.

“Connor really stepped his game tonight,” Etzler said. “He did a great job of establishing post position and finishing inside but he was also great on the offensive boards. He had several put backs and drew several fouls when he attacked the boards.”

Crestview was 27-of-54 from the floor, including 0-of-9 from three point range. The Knights also connected on 9-of-13 foul shots and had a 27-13 rebounding advantage, including 14 offensive rebounds.

Jackson and Kreston Tow each scored 11 points for Lincolnview. The Lancers were 17-of-36 shooting, including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, but just 2-of-7 from the foul line.

“We were concerned about Lincolnview’s quickness and three point shooting,” Etzler said. “We knew we had to do a good job of keeping their guards in front of us and not helping too much or they would kick for three.”

“Our guys battled,” Hammons said. “They were willing to stick their nose in there and compete. That’s one of the things I love about this group. We had spurts where we played really well but we have to be able to try to string four quarters together if we want to get some wins.”

Lincolnview will host Arlington tonight and the Knights will host Leipsic in the regular season finale on Friday.

“Arlington is a whole different animal,” Hammons said. “They will go 5-out and shoot the three, shooting around 26 a game. They are a very guard oriented team with a lot of skill. We can’t allow them to get into a rhythm and we have to stay in front of the ball.”

Box score

Knights 17 16 16 14 – 63
Lancers 12 9 8 14 – 43

Crestview: Hayden Perrott 3-0-9; Kellin Putman 1-0-2; Braxton Leeth 2-0-4; Tommy Heffner 3-2-8; Jaret Harting 3-0-6; Evan Hart 1-0-2; Wren Sheets 5-1-11; Connor Sheets 8-5-21

Lincolnview: Kreston Tow 3-0-7; Cal Evans 4-0-11; Reide Jackson 4-2-11; Chayse Overholt 1-0-2; Max Hammons 1-0-3; Carter Hohman 2-0-5; Bennett Kill 2-0-4

JV: Lincolnview 43-40