Crestvie rally falls short

FORT WALTON BEACH — Maybe all the Choctawhatchee boys basketball team really needed was to get Matt Williams to the free throw line.

On Tuesday, Williams helped save the homestanding Indians from a near meltdown by draining a rare two free throws that helped turn back charging Crestview in a 65-55 victory.

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Choctaw (10-10) appeared to have the game well in hand after taking a 48-33 lead into the fourth quarter. But a combination of Indians’ turnovers and missed free throws allowed the Bulldogs to race back to within 57-53 with 1:40 left.

Crestview had its own struggles from the charity stripe, though, and missed an opportunity to further cut into the lead by missing two free throws. Eventually, Williams was fouled with 1:18 left and swished two crucial shots.

Even with Williams’ pair, Choctaw was only 7-of-17 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and 11-of-29 for the game. Williams seemed to spark the Indians after sinking his freebies, as Kadeem White followed with a steal and fed Freddie Gray for an easy basket to help sew up the win.

“We’ve got to hit free throws. That’s the bottom line,” Choctaw coach Marc Tisza said.

Crestview coach Keith White could certainly echo that statement. The Bulldogs (12-11) only made four of their 18 free throws, and White didn’t think his squad had the right frame of mind from the outset, contributing to the steep deficit after three quarters.

“We didn’t put four quarters together and we didn’t play with a lot of emotion I didn’t think,” he said. “We get down 17 and they think they can go ahead and turn it on, but it didn’t work. I just don’t think we were prepared. I don’t know, maybe it was my fault.”

Choctaw’s trapping defense and hot 3-point shooting helped the Indians enter halftime with a 34-23 lead. Jesse Adams sank a trio of 3-pointers before intermission and finished with four, and Rashad Thompson buried an NBA-range 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left before the break.

“We played really aggressive, especially in the latter part of the second quarter,” Tisza said. “ … I really like what I see out of my kids with their energy and effort on defense right now. Things are starting to click.”

Jonathan Bowman followed a traditional three-point play with a layup as the Indians’ lead grew to 46-28 in the third quarter. But Chris Pickett, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, helped Crestview rally in the fourth.

Tyler Tisza led Choctaw with 15 points, and Williams and Adams added 12 apiece. Shykeem Jackson followed Pickett with 11 points for Crestview.