OLIVESBURG — Dylan Bruner and his Crestview teammates waited almost a year for their revenge.
Bruner scored 20 points as the Cougars avenged last season’s lopsided loss at Lucas with a 72-61 win over the Cubs on Monday.
Crestview improved to 14-0, matching the best start to a season in program history. The Cougars were 14-0 last year before traveling to Lucas on Jan. 24, 2023 and suffering a 72-38 loss.
“We remembered last year. It was embarrassing,” Bruner said. “We just wanted to make sure we had a good game and gave it our all.”
It looked like history might repeat itself Monday as the Cubs (9-3) raced to an 8-0 lead. Junior forward Zac Winters led the charge, scoring five quick points during the spurt.
“It felt different to me. We were just a little bit hurried,” Crestview coach John Kurtz said of his team’s slow start. “Our kids were really up for the game.
“I was really proud of how we just bounced back. We took a punch and got right back up. This one has been circled for a bit.”
The Cougars trailed 14-8 after the first quarter before coming to life in the second. Crestview opened the period on an 8-1 run and took a 16-15 lead — its first lead of the evening — on Jarek Ringler’s 3-pointer with 6:01 to play in the opening half.
The Cougars outscored the Cubs 19-7 in the period and took a 27-21 advantage to halftime. Five players scored in the quarter.
“They’ve got a lot of weapons and their size is hard to deal with,” Lucas coach Taylor Iceman said. “We’re still beat up with Zach Diehl still out and a few other kids with nagging injuries.
“We knew it was going to be tough but we came and played pretty well from the start. They made that run in the second quarter and then we played just about even with them after that.”
Lucas cut Crestview’s advantage to 32-30 on an Aidan Culler 3-pointer with 5:56 to play in the third before Bruner and his teammates came to life. The 6-foot-5 swingman scored 10 of his 20 points in the third.
“I appreciate my coaches having faith in me and letting me shoot,” Bruner said. “We got down early and we came back.
“Last year we kind of faded away and gave up.”
Crestview closed the third quarter on an 18-5 spree to open a 50-35 advantage going to the fourth. Lucas cut the deficit to 10 points late in the fourth but never got any closer.
Justice Thompson led the Cougars with 23 points. Bruner followed with 20 and Tyson Ringler added 12.
Winters and Gabe Porter led Lucas with 16 points apiece. Culler had 12, while Logan Toms added 10.
“We determined weeks ago we didn’t want to get beat by Toms,” Kurtz said. “We’re going to get beat by other players, not him.
“He’s a great player and a smart kid.”
Crestview will try to establish a new standard when it goes for its 15th straight win to start a season at home Friday against Monroeville. The Cougars beat the Eagles 66-49 in their first meeting.
“I give the credit to our kids and our culture,” Kurtz said. “There is really great leadership on this team.”
Meanwhile, Lucas has dropped two in a row after a 43-31 loss at Colonel Crawford on Saturday. The Cubs are 2-3 in their last five games after opening the season with seven straight wins.
“Unfortunately we’ve lost a couple in a row, but I feel like we’re getting better,” Iceman said. “I’ve said all along we’ll be as good as our role players this year and I think those guys are learning and getting better.”