Crestview can't overcome Colonel Crawford's explosive first half in Div. VI district final

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01-03-2025

ONTARIO − In a rematch of both teams first game of the season in late-November (a Crestview 56-48 win), No. 12 Division VI ranked Colonel Crawford was just too hot for Crestview to handle on Friday night at Ontario High School in a Division VI district final. Colonel Crawford (23-1) won their 23rd straight game and were too much for Crestview (17-7) in their 61-39 district title win which Crestview never led in.
Asked what their gameplan was against Colonel Crawford this time around and the answer was obvious.
More: Colonel Crawford relentless in district championship win against Crestview
"We knew we had to stop Holt. He can do everything," said Crestview junior guard Karter Goon. "The big guys they usually do stuff in the paint. They had two shooters. They don't really drive but we knew we had to contain Holt."
Holt, as in Brayden Holt, Colonel Crawford's point guard and the Division VI District 6 Player of the Year.
Like Goon touched on, everything on offense basically ran threw him and the Eagles feasted off his play. Whether he was probing his dribble into the paint area, finding his shooters on the perimeter for 3's, running the team offense at his own pace, getting inside to score off pull-up jumpers, leaners or hitting the occasional three-pointer (3 three-pointers made in game), Holt and his game-high 25 points had his hand in everything.
"Holt gets in the paint and if you sink down with too many guys, he's able to pop out and find players in the corner," said Crestview head coach John Kurtz.
Colonel Crawford made six 3-pointers in first half and took a 36-10 lead into halftime.
"They were really hard to stop because they were able to find the open man for 3's," Goon said. "They were hitting."
If struggling on defense wasn't enough for the Cougars, then the Eagles' defensive effort was evident too. While defending two-time All-Ohioan Justice Thompson, the Eagles were able to smother him on defense, as the 1,000 career point scorer had just five points in the first half and finished with 16. Off the ball, Colonel Crawford's John DeGray denied Thompson the ball often, and when he did get it, there was always a Eagles player or two there to help on drives.
"It was real difficult to get him going," Kurtz said on Thompson's offensive game. "Teams have given him those different looks all season and it's been tough at times."
For Crestview, winners of the Firelands Conference the past two seasons, they didn't exactly finish the season the way they wanted. They held first place in the Firelands Conference for most of the season, until a slide towards the end the year where they finished in second behind St. Paul. They came into the district tournament having dropped four of their previous five games, but did manage to get two wins by double-digits to finish as district runner-up, the deepest postseason basketball run Crestview has had in a long time.
"The season, we kind of lost the wheels," said Goon. "We thought we were easily going to win the league but other teams outplayed us and we didn't come ready to play."
"We had some kids out sick for some games. We bounced back and had two straight wins," said Kurtz. "Made it to district finals. Furthest this team has made it in 60 years I think. It's a milestone for us but you hate ending on a loss."
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This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Crestview loss to Colonel Crawford in a Division VI district final