FORT WALTON BEACH — Come district tournament time, in early February, the Crestview High School boys basketball team might look to the Luxe Sports Grill Shootout at Choctawhatchee High School as a springboard to the season.
The Bulldogs didn’t win the tournament, but they made a strong showing taking two out of three games.
Powered by a 17-point effort from Marquis McClain, Crestview finished the tournament Wednesday with a 52-39 win over Houston County, Ga., in the consolation finals.
Crestview-Houston County boys basketball photos>>>
Bulldog Coach Greg Watson liked what he saw from the team throughout the tournament.
“I thought we got better,” he said. “I thought we played well today. We didn’t do everything right, but we were pretty consistent with each quarter.
“They (Houston County) are a strong, athletic team and they’ve got a couple of guys that can shoot it and I thought we defended them really well. For the most part – effort-wise – today was one of our most consistent days and that’s what we were looking for. Hopefully that will carry us into the second part of the year.”
The teams traded baskets most of the first quarter-and-a-half.
Crestview (9-6) jumped to a quick 4-0 lead on scores by Tay King and McClain. The Bears scored the next seven points with Cornelius Lawhorne scoring four.
Houston County led 11-10 at the half as the squads continued to trade punches.
A Lawhorne basket with 4:49 left in the second quarter put the Bears up 17-13 for what would be their biggest lead of the game.
The lead didn’t last long. A 3-pointer by King was followed by Keenan Redd’s only basket of the game as Crestview moved in front 18-17 with 4:07 left in the half. The Bulldogs never trailed again.\
McClain scored five of Crestview’s next six points as the Bulldogs led 24-20 at the half.
Watson said McClain needs to continue to come up big for the Bulldogs down the stretch.
“He’s an important factor in the rest of our year’s success because he is strong, he can jump, he can rebound, he can go score inside,” he said. “We need him to do that. We need for him to understand that we need for him to be aggressive.
“When he’s aggressive he’s a good player and we are a better team.”
Crestview led 32-27 after an uneventful third quarter.
McClain and Wesley St. Vil took over for Crestview in the fourth quarter as each player scored eight points and Crestview pulled away down the stretch.
McClain was the only Bulldog in double figures. But King, St. Vil and Rusty Moorer each scored eight points.
Lawhorne was the only Bear in double figures with 11 points.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs close tournament, year with win (PHOTOS, VIDEO)