The Crestview defense was difficult to overcome for the Raiders
Colby Speice attempts two points in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders defeated Buckeye Central on Tuesday, moving on to the Final game against Crestview on Friday, March 14 at Bowling Green.
Ethan Linder drives to the basket scoring two points and fouled.
The game started with the Convoy team grabbing the jump ball. They drove down to their basket, but did not score and the Wayne Trace’s Devin Wenzlick rebounded the ball and passing to Colby Speice. Driving back to their basket, Wayne Trace’s Speice was fouled on the shot attempt. He pushed the ball from the free-throw line and scored the first point of the game. After this first basket the Knights controlled the first quarter and it was catchup for the Raiders the rest of the game, who would never take the lead again in this match. It was a struggle for the home team to rebound the ball and it appeared the boys lacked the confidence to drive and shoot in the first quarter. The first ended at 2-13 in the Knights favor.
Coach Linder called the boys in and had a talk and the game changed, but it was not enough for this one.
If the first quarter was not counted, the Raiders would have won the game.
The second quarter Wayne Trace outscored Crestview, but it was overshadowed by the deficit of the first quarter that very few noticed and the half finished 14-23 with the Knights in the lead still.
The third quarter Wayne Trace came out of their shell and quickly added points to their side of the board. With 4:37 left in the third the Raiders narrowed the difference to only four points at 21-25. The streak didn’t last long when the guest team got their act together and Wayne Trace turned the ball over several times. Corbin Linder scored 2 – 3 point baskets. For the season Linder at 73 – 3 point baskets. The Raiders once again outscored their opponent for the third quarter which finished at 29-23, but still following in total points.
In the final quarter Crestview had their best single period of the game and pulled a good win for them and moving on to the first state game in Columbus on March 20 against New Madison.
Wayne Trace as a team scored 12 of their 14 free-throws. The final score was 44-34 and Wayne Trace finished out a great season. This team represented the area well and should be commended for all their hard work.
Score by Quarter:
Wayne Trace: 2 12 9 11 = 34
Crestview: 13 10 6 15 = 44
Points by Player:
Wayne Trace: Corbin Linder 10, Ethan Linder 9, Devin Wenzlick 6, Colby Speice 4, Jake Arend 4.
Crestview: Damian Helm 16, Tyson Bolenbaugh 13, Cam Etzler 6, Conn Lautzenheiser 5, Preston Zaleski 3, Isaigh Simerman 1.
The Raider record for this year was 23-4 with 3 of the losses to Crestview.
