Crestview ends St. Paul win streak

OLIVESBURG — For three quarters, it was the ultimate game of scoring runs. Visiting St. Paul and Crestview were either tied or traded the lead 11 times through three quarters of Friday's Firelands Conference finale. But the host Cougars turned a 50-48 deficit into a 58-50 lead with a 10-0 scoring run early in the fourth quarter, then turned away the Flyers late for a 67-57 win. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for St. Paul, which finished the season at 12-10 overall and 7-7 in the FC. "I thought we had seized momentum back or at least neutralized it, but we had just too long of a spell there where we came up empty," St. Paul head coach Steve Minor said. "They got some run outs and hit some tough shots." Leading 31-30 at halftime, the Cougars (11-10, 9-5) went ahead 48-42 with 1:20 left in the third quarter after the teams opened the third by trading the lead six times. Isaac Kalizewski scored from right in front of the rim for the Flyers with 49.2 seconds left in the third, then Landon Fries was fouled on a made basket with 5.6 seconds left. He missed the free throw and Crestview grabbed the rebound, only for Brady Fritz to swipe the ball and put it in just before the quarter buzzer to tie the game at 48. Nate Griffin then scored to open the fourth, and the Flyers had the 50-48 lead. However, the Cougars answered with the 10 straight points in a two-minute span, with four different players scoring. Griffin made his fourth 3-pointer to bring St. Paul within 58-53 with 4:54 left, and it had the ball with a chance to draw within a possession. However, the Flyers came up empty and Goon scored on a deep full-court pass and layup. St. Paul drew no closer than 62-55 with 1:06 remaining the rest of the way. St. Paul had won the first meeting, 53-44, on Feb. 3 in Norwalk, as just one point separated the teams between the two games. "I thought there were a lot of fouls and in general a lot of things in the second half that didn't go our way, but what can you do? Crestview played well on their Senior Night," Minor said. "They have a nice team. "Goon was tough for us to handle, and Wells was tough also," he added. "Those are two solid players, and you'd expect that from them. I'm glad we don't have to see them again." The first half was a tale of two quarters for the Flyers. They couldn't miss to start the game, as Griffin made a 3 and was fouled just 22 seconds in. He made the free throw, then Fries added a 3, followed by four straight free throws from Fries and Kalizewski for a quick 11-4 lead. Griffin came down again after another Crestview miss and made another 3 to put the Flyers up 14-4 at the 4:09 mark of the first quarter. Fries added two more free throws and his second 3 of the quarter to push the lead out to 22-11 after one quarter. But the Cougars cranked up the defensive pressure to start the second. After a quick basket, they were able to get two steals and layups in quick fashion, the last a three-point play from Wells. That quickly made it a 7-0 run and a 22-18 deficit. When Griffin made another 3 for a 30-21 lead with 2:28 left in the half, it appeared St. Paul had held off the Cougars. However, Crestview then closed the half on a 10-0 scoring run, including a big 3 from Wells with 2.2 seconds left for a 31-30 halftime lead. "We were up 11 and didn't want them to get a hot start, and instead we did, which was great," Minor said. "But they heated up later on, and kids do those things. They settled in and did what they needed to do." Fries scored 21 points in the loss for St. Paul, which moved him into the top 20 in scoring for a career and 13th in a single-season entering the tournament. Griffin added 19, while Fritz had seven points and five rebounds, and Kalizewski grabbed 10 rebounds. Up next for St. Paul is a third meeting with FC rival Monroeville (17-5) in a Division VII sectional title game at 6 p.m. Thursday. Each team won at home during the regular season. "We've got some homework to keep doing and a get a good week of practice in," Minor said. "It's obviously win or go home and it should be a great atmosphere over there." ST. PAUL (12-10, 7-7) Nate Griffin 7-1—19; Connor Lindenberger 2-0—4; Kade Houck 1-0—2; Isaac Kalizewski 1-2—4; Brady Fritz 3-0—7; Landon Fries 6-6—21. TOTALS 20-9—57. CRESTVIEW (12-10, 9-5) Daniel Wells 7-5—23; Karter Goon 11-7—29; Drew Spoerr 3-0—8; Max Durbin 1-1—3; Lane Robinson 1-0—2; Carson Keener 1-0—2. TOTALS 24-13—67. St. Paul 22 8 18 9 — 57 Crestview 11 20 17 19 — 67 Three-point FGs: (SP) Griffin 4, Fries 3, Fritz; (CV) Wells 4, Spoerr 2. JV: Crestview, 48-34.