These two Northwest Conference colleagues met up Feb. 8 at Jefferson, with the visiting Knights grabbing a 37-24 win.
Jefferson (10-10) head man Marc Smith expects the same kind of game this time around.
“Both teams play excellent defense: open looks and points will be at a premium. The first game really came down to a spurt they had in the third quarter: Tony Springer hit a couple of 3s and Bryce Richey hit one late in the period that gapped the game,” Smith began. “We got it down to 5 or 6 in the fourth but we couldn’t get all the way back; they hit their free throws down the stretch.
“They did a great job of jamming our cutters and not letting our guys get to where they wanted to go. They really did an excellent job on ball screens. We shot 9-of-38 from the floor; because of the great positioning of their post players, we didn’t get too many offensive rebounds to make up for it. Plus, they did a great job getting to the line.”
With his team averaging 47.5 markers per and yielding 43.4, it will be all about manufacturing more offense tonight. Mike Rahrig (7.5 points, 2.0 assists) leads the way, along with Jordan Jettinghoff (6.8 and 2.0), Matt Gerdeman (6.7, 5.7 boards), Michael Wiltsie (6.5, 4.6, 2.0 assists), Matthew Antalis (6.2 points, 5.7 caroms), Josh Miller (5.5, 5.1), Craig Carder (5.1 counters) and Bubba Shivley (2.9).
“We have to do better at getting to the line. We need to convert the open looks we do get,” Smith added. “Tournament time is all about accentuating your strengths: those for us are defense and rebounding, especially offensive. We have to do better on the glass — work for better position — as well as contain Briggs Orsbon.”
Crestview coach Jeremy Best figures there won’t be any surprises this time — only who executes their game plan the best.
“During practice for that game, we really went back to the basics, especially defensively, as well as simplified the offense,” Best began. “All that meant was getting more players involved and being more balanced that way. For us to be 11-9 entering this game is a credit to these players after the losses we had from last season. I just believe we were more at ease that game. We’re going to need that again tonight against a very good defensive unit.”
Besides seniors Orsbon (6-0 guard) and Richey (5-6 guard) and Springer (5-8 junior guard), the other members of the Knights’ rotation are seniors Michael Thompson (6-2 post), Tony Burger (5-10 forward) and Michael Biro (5-10 forward), junior Jordan Gibson (5-10 forward) and sophomore Kyle Balliet (6-4 post).
“I expect a couple new wrinkles tonight, maybe a gimmick or two, but in general, these two teams are evenly-matched,” Best added. “We’re not going to change much and neither are they. We had a great team defensive effort that night and we will need another one just like it this time. It’s going to come down to doing all the little things and simply executing what it is we want to do.”