CRESTLINE — It would appear that the Crestline Bulldogs boys basketball team can’t seem to catch a break. The Bulldogs have found themselves in a number of close games so far this season and keep ending up on the losing side of the score. This did not change on Tuesday night as the game went down to the buzzer and saw Loudonville edging the ‘Dogs, 47-45.

Crestline now drops to 1-6 overall this season and 0-4 in Mid-Buckeye Conference play.

The Bulldogs seemed ready to claim their second win of the season after taking a 17-10 lead into the second quarter. At halftime, Crestline still held on to a lead of 31-24. The Redbirds came out in the second half strong and outscored Crestline 11-4 to take a 35-35 tie into the final period. A technical foul assessed to Davon Triplett shifted the momentum of the game, leading to a four-point swing in the score. In a bold strategy, Loudonville implemented what is known as “stall ball”. With the raucous Crestline crowd in their ears, the Redbirds held the ball for most of the fourth period before getting into their offense. The move paid off in dividends as they were able to find the open man on back door cuts. Loudonville prevailed after a costly turnover by Zach Gregory of the Bulldogs in the final seconds of the game.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs in the contest was Ty Clark. Clark had 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss. Kevin Winkler also put in a solid performance for Crestline, scoring nine points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out an assist and recording two steals. Freshman Kaden Ronk had nine points and three rebounds as well for the Bulldogs.

Garrett Fry had 18 points as the deep threat in the win for Loudonville while Hunter Martin scored 15 as the strong, inside presence.

Crestline will be back in action on Tuesday Jan.3 when they host the South Central Trojans of the Firelands Conference.