Gabe Ridder
Trailing Pleasant View Christian by 17 points early in the third quarter of Saturday night’s Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional final, Columbus Christian ran off 14 in a row to cut the lead to three.
The Crusaders had momentum and the crowd on their side.
But in the blink of an eye, Pleasant View put an end to any hopes Columbus Christian had of a comeback. The Bulldogs scored the final 13 points of the third quarter to push the lead back to 16 and went on to claim the regional title with a 67-45 victory.
“Give them credit,” Columbus Christian coach Kevin Roth said. “They played a tough game this afternoon.”
Pleasant View, which edged Christian Academy of Madison by one point in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals, jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the final against the Crusaders (20-17). The Bulldogs built the lead to 22-8 after one quarter and 29-17 at halftime before taking a 36-19 advantage two minutes into the third quarter.
“We were getting good shots,” Roth said. “They just didn’t go down. The first two 3s that Peyton (Rehlander) had were halfway down and kicked out. If those go down, I think it’s a little bit different.”
Back-to-back baskets inside by Noah Edwards started Columbus Christian on the comeback trail. After Rehlander hit a 3, Edwards scored again, and Gabe Ridder came up with a steal and layup. A 3 by Cam Pritchard brought the Crusaders within 36-33 with 2:25 left in the third quarter.
But after an exchange of baskets, Pleasant View ran off 13 unanswered points in the final 1:47 of the quarter to push the lead back to 51-35, and the Crusaders could get no closer than 13 in the final period.
Kendrick Graber scored 21 points, and Kaden Wagler scored all 17 of his points in the first quarter to lead the Bulldogs. Columbus Christian and Pleasant View met four times this season, with each team winning twice.
“We did a better job of containing 10 (Kaden Wagler) in our wins,” Roth said. “Then, 21 (Graber), we tried to put bigs on him, and when we’d switch off to help with 33 (Aaron Wagler) or 1 (Elmer Knepp), we weren’t getting our rotations down to double-team those guys or 21, and then they did a good job of kicking it out to hit an open guy for a 3.”
Ridder led the Crusaders with 18 points. Edwards added 14 points and a game-high six rebounds.
Columbus Christian advance to the final with a 73-37 semifinal win against Trinity Christian. Edwards scored 20 points, while Gabe Ridder had 14 and Isaac Ridder added eight.
The Crusaders now will head to Dayton, Tennessee, for the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) Tournament, which begins Wednesday and continues through Friday. They will play one game each day, regardless if they win or lose.
Pleasant View will be back at Columbus Christian for the ICSAA state final four on Saturday. The Crusaders were hoping to be playing in that on their home floor.
“I hate it for the seniors, especially Gabe,” Roth said. “Gabe has been a rock star for this program for the last four years and never had a chance to play in the final four. I thought the way things rolled out that we might get a shot this year.”
