Senior night success

Cael Turner’s 30 points led a contingent of four Creston players scoring in double figures as the Panthers gained an 83-71 senior night victory over Red Oak Friday.

Turner made 14 of 16 free throws in reaching 30 points and also contributed four steals, six rebounds and three assists. The balanced attack also included Parker Varner with 15 points off the bench, 14 points by center Tony Davidson and 13 by Jake Hoyt.

Leading 22-11 after one quarter, Creston quickly established a 27-14 lead on one of two 3-pointers in the half by freshman Rhett Driskell, and a fast break runout by Turner. From there, the Panthers never relinquished the lead in improving to 7-10 overall, and finishing 4-6 in conference play in sixth place.

Red Oak, led by Max DeVries with a game-high 33 points, fell to 8-10 and 2-7. DeVries and Creston’s Varner each made four 3-pointers in the game.

“We’ve got three really high level scorers in the league in Jake Hoyt, Cael Turner and Tony Davidson,” Creston coach Bryce Schafer said. “To have Parker Varner score in double digits is great, because he’s always been a shooter but this year he’s kind of been in a slump. Having him get his confidence and scoring really helps us, and Rhett Driskell hit a couple threes that helped spread their zone out a little bit.”

Led by DeVries, the Tigers made a charge in the third quarter and pulled within three points at 54-51. Hoyt re-ignited the home team’s momentum with a traditional three-point play on a foul shot after a basket, and a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer.

That gave the Panthers a 60-51 cushion going into the final period. Turner’s steal and 3-pointer pushed it to 11 points at 68-57 with 2:40 to play. Davidson punctuated the win with a runaway dunk to make it 77-63 in the final minute.

Seniors honored with their parents prior to the game were Gavin Millslagle, Lucas Rushing, Conner Wiley, Turner and Davidson. The seniors also recognized the late Sterling Sharp, their classmate who died in March 2018, by holding Sharp’s No. 30 jersey in front of the crowd during the presentation.

The win concluded a busy week of four games in five nights. (The Panthers also started off this week with a game at Clarinda Monday that is considered non-conference. That report will be in Thursday’s News Advertiser.)

“To get a win on senior night at the end of a tough week was great. I was proud of our fight,” Schafer said. “It was a conference win, and we desperately needed another one of those. We got up 14 and then came into the half only up six. We rallied in the second half and fought through some adversity.”

RED OAK (71) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 27 11-14 71. Max DeVries 12 5-7 33, Hunter Gilleland 8 3-3 20, Cyrus Mensen 4 0-0 8, Brayden Sifford 2 1-2 5, Tyler Beeson 1 0-0 3, Bennett Johnson 0 2-2 2. FG shooting — 27-61 (44.3 percent). 3-point goals — 6-22 (DeVries 4, Gilleland 1, Beeson 1). Steals — 13 (Gilleland 4). Rebounds — 28 (Mensen 7, Bergren 6). Assists — 11 (Gilleland 5). Turnovers — 11. Team fouls — 22. Fouled out — none.

CRESTON (83) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 26 21-24 83. Cael Turner 7 14-16 30, Parker Varner 4 3-4 15, Tony Davidson 6 2-2 14, Jake Hoyt 5 2-2 13, Rhett Driskell 2 0-0 6, Josh Schaefer 1 0-0 3, Lucas Rushing 1 0-0 2. FG shooting — 26-56 (47.3 percent). 3-point goals — 10-25 (Varner 4, Turner 2, Driskell 2, Hoyt 1, Schaefer 1). Rebounds — 29 (Turner 6, Hoyt 6, Driskell 5, Davidson 4, Rushing 4). Assists — 14 (Hoyt 4, Turner 3, Millslagle 3, Varner 2). Steals — 8 (Turner 4, Hoyt 3). Blocked shots — 3 (Hoyt 2, Millslagle 1). Turnovers — 18. Team fouls — 11. Fouled out — None.