Knights blow out Jennings; St. John’s wins

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Crestview boys’ basketball team dominated Fort Jennings, blowing out the Musketeers 69-29 to earn a Division IV sectional tournament title at Van Wert on Friday. Delphos St. John’s won the lower bracket sectional title with a 52-41 win over Ottoville.

The undefeated and No. 1-ranked Knights (23-0) will now play Columbus Grove (14-9) in a Division IV district semifinal game at Elida on Tuesday. Fort Jennings ends its season at 4-20.

Crestview took little time showing the Musketeers what was in store, as the Knights pushed out to a 22-point first-quarter lead, scoring 26 points while limiting Jennings to just four points in the period. The lead was 28 points, 41-13, at the half and just kept growing, reaching 38 points in the third quarter on a 21-10 run by Crestview.

The Knights used their reserves in the fourth quarter, when both teams together scored just 12 points.

Crestview was led by Northwest Conference Player of the Year Damian Helm, who scored 20 points in the game. Mitchell Rickard added 12 points for the Knights, who had nine players score in the game. The Musketeers were led by Austin Kehres, who had just 7 points in the game.

In the other sectional title game, St. John’s had three players in double figures as the Blue Jays held off a determined Ottoville team, 52-41.

The Jays were up by three points, 11-8, in the first quarter, but trailed by a point, 20-19, at the half when Ottoville went on a 12-8 run in the second period.

An 11-5 third-quarter run by St. John’s up by five, 30-25, at the three-quarter mark, while the Jays outscored Ottoville 22-16 in the final period to take the win.

Tyler Conley led St. John’s with 12 points, while Andy Grothouse added 11 points and Evan Hays scored 10 points for the Blue Jays. Ryan Koester also had 9 points for St. John’s. The Big Green were led by Brandt Landin’s 18 points, while Luke Schimmoeller added 14 points for Ottoville.

St. John’s (13-8) will also advance to Elida for a district semifinal game next Tuesday.