CRESTVIEW — For three quarters Crestview High School and rival Niceville were even in District 1-7A boys basketball Friday night.
For every run the Eagles could muster the Bulldogs would answer and vice versa. At the end of the third quarter the game was tied 43 all.
Things changed in the fourth quarter as Niceville turned up the defensive heat and the Bulldogs began to melt down the stretch.
Crestview resident and former Davidson Middle School standout Jeff Toney scored 10 points in the fourth quarter for Niceville to lead the Eagles to a 65-53 win.
Crestview-Niceville boys basketball photos>>>
Bulldog Coach Greg Watson admitted it was Niceville’s press that was the difference in the game.
“We didn’t handle the ball well and it hurt us,” he said. “That’s one thing I thought we would do well and get easy buckets off of.
“We were really bad at attacking it tonight and trying to get the ball in bounds sometimes. We didn’t do what we were supposed to and go where we were supposed to go. But it was a good learning experience.”
Watson said missed opportunities in the first half when the Bulldogs were able to break the press were especially frustrating.
Niceville (8-2, 3-0) drew first blood scoring the game’s first seven points.
Nick Morken got the Eagles started with a 3-point basket 30 seconds into the first quarter. Baskets by Andrew Krist and Toney put Niceville up 7-0 three minutes into the game.
Crestview’s Andrew Adkins scored the first of his game-high 20 points with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Adkins went on to score three straight baskets to pull the Bulldogs (6-4, 3-1) to within a point of Niceville.
The Eagles pushed the lead to five points before Crestview’s Tay King got untracked scoring the next five points of the game to tie things up at 11-11.
The Eagles regained the lead on Kevin Robinson’s only basket of the night late in the first quarter.
The teams continued to battle through the next two quarters as neither could deliver the knockout blow.
Tyler James provided Niceville with a lift in the final three quarters as the Eagles looked for a complimentary scorer to Toney and Morken.
The score was tied 26-26 at the half.
Crestview’s biggest lead of the first half was 15-13 after a Marquis McClain basket early in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs never led by more than two points at any time in the game.
Crestview’s last lead of the night came with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter on a Damien Lett basket. Niceville then turned up the press and pulled away for the win.
Toney led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points. James added 17 and Morken 11.
King scored 12 points for Crestview to join Adkins in double figures. McClain scored eight points for the Bulldogs.
EmailNews Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs can’t handle Niceville’s press (PHOTOS, VIDEO)