The Van Wert County Courthouse

Thursday, Mar. 28, 2024

Crestview defeats Ft. Jennings 56-40

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

CONVOY — It wasn’t always pretty, but Crestview rolled past Fort Jennings 56-40 at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Leading 29-25 midway through the third quarter, the Knights enjoyed 10-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach for the visiting Musketeers. Carson Kreischer started it with a bucket, followed by a steal and layup by Derick Dealey, a layup by Wade Sheets, a triple by Javin Etzler and a steal and a basket by Kalen Etzler. Fort Jennings scored pair of baskets, but Kalen Etzler’s offensive rebound and layup beat the third quarter buzzer and gave Crestview a 41-29 lead.

Crestview’s Kalen Etzler slams home two points against Fort Jennings. Etzler finished with 12 points. Wyatt Richardson/Van Wert independent

The Knights scored the first six points of the fourth quarter, two on free throws by Javin Etzler, a crowd pleasing baseline dunk by Kalen Etzler and a basket by Wade Sheets. Later in the quarter, Kreischer hit a triple and Sheets had a pair of layups.

“I was pleased with the latter part of the second half, when we were better in a lot of areas,” Crestview head coach Jeremy Best said. “We still just can’t seem to find a rhythm offensively and you can say it’s poor shooting, but it’s a multitude of things.”

“I think our spacing is bad at times, our shot selection is bad at times, we look undisciplined at times, so all of things are something we’ll continue to work on.”

Fort Jennings led 6-2 on first quarter baskets by Ian Ricker and Carson Kazee and a pair of foul shots by Reese Van Sossan, but Crestview went on a 11-3 run to grab a 13-9 lead. Brant Richardson had a pair of foul shots, Drew Kline had a steal and a basket, Javin Etzler hit a bucket and a trey and Kalen Etzler scored off an alley oop dunk.  Kline finished with nine points, all in the opening quarter.

Both teams scored just nine points in a sluggish second quarter, and Best acknowledged Fort Jennings presented some challenges.

“I give them a lot of credit,” Best said. “They came in here and competed, they have some nice physical bodies and some kids that can do some things physically.”

“I thought their guard play play was pretty good, and they came in and played with a lot of purpose and didn’t bat an eye,” Best added.

Sheets finished with a game high 15 points, while Kalen Etzler and Javin Etzler each scored 12. Von Sossan led the Musketeers with 11 points, followed by Ricker’s 10.

Crestview (4-1) will host Allen East on Friday, while Fort Jennings (1-5) will play at Ayersville the same night, then will host Lincolnview on Saturday.

Scoring summary

Crestview       20 9 12 15 – 56
Fort Jennings 16 9   6 11 – 40

Crestview: Kalen Etzler 5-1-12; Wade Sheets 7-1-15; Javin Etzler 4-2-12; Drew Kline 4-0-9; Derick Dealey 1-0-2; Brant Richardson 1-0-2; Carson Kreischer 1-1-4

Fort Jennings: Reese Van Sossan 3-4-11; Ian Ricker 4-0-10; Nick Trentman 2-0-4; Carson Kazee 4-0-8; Even Hoersten 3-0-6; Derek Luersman 0-1-1

JV: Crestview won 40-25

 

 

POSTED: 12/19/18 at 6:12 am. FILED UNDER: Sports