Knight boys crush Bluffton in NWC tilt

Van Wert independent sports

CONVOY — The Crestview Knights came out shooting and the Bluffton Pirates didn’t have a chance, as the Knights gave Bluffton a 75-36 pounding in Northwest Conference boy’s basketball action on Friday.

Crestview had a 10-point lead, 17-7, at the end of the first quarter and stretched that to 24 points, 40-16, at the half. Both teams scored 11 in the third quarter, but the Knights then went on a 24-9 tear in the final stanza for the 39-point margin of victory.

With the win, Crestview is now 16-2 on the year and 5-2 in the NWC. Bluffton falls to 8-10 overall and 2-5 in league play.

Tyson Bolenbaugh led Crestview with 24 points, while Damian Helm scored 12, Connor Lautzenheiser added 10 points and Cam Etzler and Alex Brown each scored 9 points in the contest. The Pirates were led by Michael Donley’s 11 points, while Noah Stratton added 10 for Bluffton.

The Knights shot well from the field, knocking down 27 of 44 field goal attempts (61.4 percent) and 5 of 14 from three-point range (35.7 percent). Crestview was 16 of 22 from the free-throw line (72.7 percent). Thanks to the stifling Knight defense, Bluffton hit just 10 of 32 field goal attempts (31.3 percent), and were 3 of 9 from three-point range (33.3 percent). The Pirates hit 13 of 15 free-throw attempts (86.7 percent).

Bluffton outrebounded the Knights 22-12, but Crestview’s hounding defense forced the Pirates into 26 turnovers, versus seven for Crestview. The Knights also had 15 steals to four for Bluffton.

The Crestview junior varsity team also got an easy win, 57-30, over the Pirate JVs.