HOLMES TOWNSHIP — According to Wynford coach Steve Mohr, the Crestline Bulldogs simply wanted the game more.
“I think (Crestline) just played with a little more passion than we did,” Mohr said. “On the 50-50 balls, I think they came up with more of those contested balls. Every time there was a loose ball to be had, I think blue got it more than the white did.”
The statistics certainly back the Wynford coach.
The Bulldogs shot 60 percent from the floor (24 of 40) and 83 percent from the free throw line (14 of 17). What’s more, with the game on the line, the Bulldogs knocked down eight of nine free throws to seal a 67-58 win over the Royals.
Crestline improved to 7-11 on the season while Wynford fell to 5-13.
But Crestline coach Tyler Sanders said that, while his offense played well, it was his team’s defensive effort that was the difference.
Wynford star Josh Crall led all scorers with 26 points, but Sanders said that his team defended the Northern 10’s leading scorer very well.
“Our defense was good tonight,” Sanders said. “I thought the kids played really well on Crall; he is so good, so good. I thought we limited his trips to the free throw line. He might have gone 10 times, but I thought we did a pretty decent job.”
Crall was, in fact, five of six from the line on the night, but down the stretch, the Wynford star got to the line just twice, unlike the 12-for-12 effort he had in his 44-point night in Wynford’s 66-64 win over Carey Saturday night.
“(Crestline’s) kids just played excellent,” Mohr said. “They played excellent half-court defense. They were as good tonight as anyone we have gone against this year. We just had a hard time getting anything going consistently at the offensive end.”
The game was tied 16-16 after one period and Wynford held a 32-31 lead at the half, but the Bulldogs took control of the game early in the third period.
After Crestline’s Spencer Harley scored to give the Bulldogs a one-point lead at the beginning of the frame, Crall answered to give the Royals the lead back.
But from there, Trevor Phillips drilled a 3-pointer, Ty Clark dropped a free throw, Kaden Ronk scored on a nice eight-footer in the lane, Clark dropped a layup and Ronk added back-to-back layups and the Bulldogs held a 45-36 lead. Crall added two free throws and Crestline led, 45-38, entering the fourth period.
“I think the key was the start of the second half,” Mohr said. “We got three or four stops, but we could get nothing going offensively. Just empty possession after empty possession.”
From there, the Royals never got closer than six points.
“We’re not good enough to miss open looks,” Mohr said. “We have to have a high percentage of scores on a consistent basis.”
Sanders said that his big men, Ty Clark, Spencer Harley and Ethan Clark, played well against the Royals’ post players.
“(Wynford’s) bigs gave us problems in the first half but in the second half our guys kinda took the challenge of answering their bigs and covering,” Sanders said. “I was really proud of Ty, Ethan and Spencer’s effort. It was just a really good team win.”
Gavin Leffler backed up Crall with 10 points and post mate Gunnar Coffman added eight.
Ronk paced the Bulldogs with 23 points and Ty Clark finished with 21. Guard Max Anatra added 13 points.
“We shot the ball pretty well,” Sanders said. “In the first half we tried to get the ball into the bigs and get to the foul line. We did a much better job of pulling up in front of their defenders and hit a couple of bank shots and stuff and I was really proud of the way we executed down the stretch.”
Sanders said that the win was a nice jumping-off point for his Bulldogs as the team begins its final stretch of the regular season.
“It’s a huge win,” Sanders said. “We have the tournament draw next Sunday. I told the kids ‘we might have a similar record with Wynford, but they also play in a really tough league.’ They have played a lot of good teams tough. That’s a good basketball team. So, getting that kind of win is a big win for us for sure.
“It’s good momentum for us going into this weekend,” Sanders added. “We have Mansfield Christian and Vanlue, two games we have a chance to win if we play well, so getting a head of steam heading into the tournament is a great thing.”
Box score
Crestline 16 15 14 22 — 67
Wynford 16 16 6 20 — 58
Crestline: (7-11): Shots 24-40; 3-pt. shots 5 (Kaden Ronk 3, Calvin Reed, Trevor Phillips); Free throws 14-17; Rebounds 23; Turnovers 11. Scoring: Kaden Ronk 9 2 23, Calvin Reed 1 0 3, Max Anatra 3 7 13, Trevor Phillips 1 0 3, Ty Clark 8 5 21, Ethan Clark 1 0 2, Spencer Harley 1 0 2.
Wynford (5-13): Shots 23-58; 3-pt. shots 4 (Josh Crall 3, Isaac Sterrett); Free throws 8-11; Rebounds 26; Turnovers 7. Scoring: Brock Noblit 1 0 2, Matt McBride 2 0 4, Gunnar Coffman 3 2 8, Isaac Sterrett 1 0 3, Khylee Davis 1 0 2, Josh Crall 9 5 26, Caleb Rausch 1 1 3, Gavin Leffler 5 0 10.
JV: Wynford 48-24.