2/6/2010
Late surge carries Knights over Bluffton
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| Tina Eley/Times Bulletin file photo
Crestview’s Rob Cook (32) secures a rebound, as teammates Dallis Gibson (25) and Brad Miller (20) also go for the ball, during a game on Friday, January 29, in Convoy. |
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BY JIM COX
Times Bulletin Correspondent
sports@timesbulletin.com
BLUFFTON - In Friday night's game at Bluffton, Crestview proved once again that defense alone will take a team a long way. The Knights clawed their way to a 32-32 tie at the end of three quarters, then buried the Pirates in the fourth to come away with a big 49-38 win. Crestview is now 7-7 overall and 4-2 in the Northwest Conference. Bluffton is 3-13 and 1-5.
There were nine lead changes and three ties in the game. The last of those ties came with three seconds left in the third period when Bluffton's R. J. Stratton grabbed a Pirate airball and put it back to tie it at 32. From there on, though, it was all Crestview.
The Knights' only senior, Evan Vining, started the fourth by laying one in off a Brad Miller assist. Steven Rickard cashed in two free throws and a three-pointer from the right wing to make it 39-32 at the 4:36 mark. While Bluffton was misfiring left and right, Crestview entered the double bonus, which was good because the Knights were having an atrocious time at the line up to that point. Rickard hit two more freebies, Dallis Gibson went one of two, and Brad Miller canned one of two to extend the run to 11-0 and the lead to 43-32 with 2:19 remaining.
That margin appeared safe until Bluffton point guard Matt Gillett skied a trey from the left corner and Tyler Breidenbach cashed in two free throws to give the Pirates some hope - 43-37 at 1:43 - but that hope was brief. Miller hit two free throws, Vining powered inside for a layup, and Gibson added two more freebies to seal it at 49-37.
Bluffton's leading scorer (14.8 points per game), 6-5 junior Levi Gleason, added a free throw to provide the final margin. That was only Gleason's sixth point of the game, and four of those points came from the stripe.
"We did a good job fronting him and I think we frustrated him early," said Crestview coach Jeremy Best. "That was huge. Dallis Gibson did a good job, and we rotated Jared (Hallfeldt) on him. We had really good team defense - we had good backside help and we just had guys around him all night long. He's a really good player and I thought we did a fabulous job on him. When you do that you give up something, and then the Gillett kid hit some big shots for them."
It was 10-10 at the end of one and 19-18, Crestview, at the half, at which point the team stats were nearly identical. Both teams had trouble finding the range from the field, with each hitting only 33 percent - 7 of 21. Each team had eight turnovers, and each team hit three free throws, although Bluffton's freebies came without a miss and Crestview missed four. The Knights did hold a rebounding edge at that point - 17-13.
Gibson started the third period with a 12-foot baseline jumper, but Gillett more than trumped that with a trey from straight out to tie the game at 21. Vining then slithered inside twice to bank in scoop shots, and Gibson swished a jumper from the foul line area to make it 27-21. Gillette, however, added a three and a two to spark a run to keep the Pirates close and set the stage for the big Knight fourth period.
"It was like pulling teeth the whole game," said Best. "I thought we were playing well at times, and then we'd go through lulls, but our defense kept us in the game. That's how we hang around. Eventually we made some plays, and we hit some free throws, not many, but a few."
It would have been a much easier game for the Knights if they hadn't struggled mightily from the line. Until the last six minutes of the game, Crestview had gone 3 for 12, and they ended at 50 percent on 13 of 26. Bluffton cashed in 67 percent of its freebies - 8 of 12. The Knights out-shot the Pirates from the field, 38 percent (16 of 42) to 30 percent (13 of 43). Crestview won the battle of the glass 32-29 and protected the ball better - 13 turnovers to 16.
Rickard, Vining and Gibson led the Knight scoring with 15, 11, and 10 points, respectively. Gillett was tops for the Pirates with 18, including four triples.
Crestview (11-3 overall, 5-1 NWC) dominated the jayvee game 46-22. The Knights were led in scoring by Trevor Roop and Kole Rolsten with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Keshaun Hughes and Jacob Nienberg scored eight and six, respectively, for Bluffton (3-13, 1-5).
Score by quarters:
Bluffton 10 8 14 6 - 38
Crestview 10 9 13 17 - 49
Bluffton (38)
Siefker 3 0-0 6, Breidenbach 0 2-2 2, Stratton 3 0-1 6, Gleason 1 4-5 6, Gillett 6 2-4 18, Donley 0 0-0 0, Hughes 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 8-12 38.
Crestview (49)
Miller 1 3-5 6, Rickard 4 5-7 15, Gibson 3 4-6 10, Vining 5 0-5 11, Cook 3 1-3 7, Torrey 0 0-0 0, Zaleski 0 0-0 0, Hallfeldt 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-26 49.
3-point field goals:
Bluffton 4 (Gillett 4), Crestview 4 (Rickard 2, Vining, Miller).
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