The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Stout, Etzler lead Knights past Miller City

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — A 14-0 run that spanned the final half of the second quarter and the opening minutes of the third period keyed Crestview’s 63-47 non-conference win over Miller City at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Monday night.

With the game tied at 30 in the second quarter, Javin Etzler hit a basket to give the Knights a 32-30 lead. Drew Kline knocked down a pair of foul shots, then Etzler closed the scoring with four free throws to put Crestview (7-3) ahead 38-30 at halftime.

Derek Stout drives for two of his game high 23 points vs. Continental. Bob Barnes/Van Wert independent

Etzler, Wade Sheets and Derek Stout each scored baskets in the third quarter to extend Crestview’s advantage to 44-30, and the Knights enjoyed a double digit lead the rest of the way.

Stout opened the game with a strong first quarter. The 6-4 senior scored 11 of his game high 23 points, most of them on layups. Brett Schumm connected on consecutive baskets and Jace Vining hit a trey as the Knights raced to a 22-17 lead.

6-7 juniorJavin Etzler took over scoring in the second quarter with 11 points on two baskets and a 7-for-7 performance from the foul line. He went on to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kline finished with a game high eight assists.

“On any particular night any of these guys could have a situation where they have a major impact on the game,” Crestview head coach Jeremy Best said of his players. “I hope they’re starting to see that.”

Early in the second period the Wildcats climbed to within two on a triple by Isaac Fillinger, then enjoyed brief leads of 25-24 and 28-26 on treys by Mark Kuhlman and Fillinger.

After two third quarter foul shots by Miller City’s Mitchell Gable ended Crestview’s 14-0 scoring run, Derick Dealey quickly drained a three pointer to keep momentum in favor of the Knights. When the quarter ended, the Knights had held the Wildcats a single basket and four free throws.

In the fourth quarter, Stout accounted for six of Crestview’s 10 points.

Miller City (5-6) came in averaging 62 points per game and Best said he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort.

“(Mark) Kuhlman’s really hard to guard and he’s a tough player,” Best explained. “He’s relentless, he’s always coming at you and his motor is always burning hot. We rotated some guys on him, and I thought we did as good as you can do on him.”

“I thought Javin did a good job on (Noah) Otto,” Best added. “He didn’t let him get his feet underneath him. He’s as good a shooter as we’ve seen and we challenged Javin with that.”

Kuhlman finished with 13 points, Mitchell Gable had 12 and Otto scored just four points, which was nine below his average.

As a team, Miller City was 17-41 (41 percent) from the floor and 9-12 (75 percent) from the foul line. The Wildcats finished the game with 13 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Crestview was 25-42 (59 percent) from the floor and 11-12 (91 percent) from the foul line, with 25 rebounds and ten turnovers.

Miller City will host Continental on Friday and Lincolnview on Saturday. Crestview will entertain Arlington on Saturday.

Scoring summary:

Crestview 22 16 15 10 – 63
Miller City 17 13  6 11 – 47

Crestview: Wade Sheets 1-0-2; Javin Etzler 5-7-17; Drew Kline 2-2-6; Derek Stout 11-1-23; Brett Schumm 2-1-5; Jace Vining 3-0-7; Derick Dealey 1-0-3

Miller City: Luke Lammers 2-0-4; Mitchell Gable 3-5-12; Mark Kuhlman 5-2-13; Tyler Schroeder 3-0-6; Noah Otto 2-0-4; Isaac Fillinger 2-0-6; Wesley Girten 0-2-2

JV: Crestview won 51-32

POSTED: 01/09/18 at 8:15 am. FILED UNDER: Sports