CRESTLINE — The weather outside on Friday evening was unbearable but the inside of Crestline High School was heating up as the Bulldogs boys basketball team played host to Mid-Buckeye Conference foes, the Mansfield Christian Flames.

In a game that was full of runs and back-and-forth play, it would be the hometown Bulldogs earning the victory on Friday by a final score of 66-55 over the visiting Flames. Crestline improves to 4-3 overall on the season and earned their first MBC win to move to 1-2 in the conference. Mansfield Christian falls to 6-4 overall and are 1-3 within the league.

The game started with a quick bucket by Kaden Ronk off of the opening tip and both teams were on the attack. By the end of the first quarter of play, the hosting ‘Dogs led by a slim, 18-15 margin. Mansfield Christian, however, would respond with a huge, 22-point second quarter while holding Crestline to 13 to take the 37-31 lead into the locker room for halftime.

Mansfield Christian came out of the gate in the second half slightly sluggish and the Bulldogs wasted no time picking up right where they left off, outscoring the Flames in the third; 17-8 to move ahead 48-45 heading into the final eight minutes of action. Once again, Crestline kept the visitors from finding a rhythm and used an 18-10 final quarter to secure the victory.

In total, the game saw three ties and four lead changes with both teams posting long runs in the hopes of distancing themselves. Crestline’s longest run of the evening was a 14-3 advantage while, at one point, the Flames outscored the ‘Dogs 13-3.

Ty Clark was the top ‘Dog on the evening for the home team, scoring 16 points to go along with eight rebounds.

Kaden Ronk, Max Anatra and Zach Gregory joined Clark in the double-digit scoring category. Ronk posted 13 points on the evening while Anatra and Gregory contributed 11 points apiece in the Bulldogs victory.

Other stats for Crestline on Friday were: 21/52 total field goals, 16/32 from the interior, 8/15 from the perimeter, 10/14 from the free-throw line, 36 total rebounds (11O, 25D), 16 assists, 1 block, 6 steals and 16 turnovers; Ronk- 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Anatra- 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal; Gregory- 3 rebounds, 1 steal; AJ Watkins- 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals; Davon Triplett- 5 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal; Kevin Winkler- 2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and Caleb Hoskins- 1 rebound, 1 block.

Mansfield Christian had three players finish in double figures on Friday in the loss, led by 21 points from Kyle Kurtz. Ethan DeLaney chimed in with 13 points and Jared McPeek contributed 11 in the Flames efforts.

Other stats for the Flames: 21/52 total field goals, 14/31 from inside, 7/21 from outside, 6/9 at the line, 23 total rebounds (9O, 14D), 6 assists, 1 block, 9 steals and 13 turnovers.

A non-conference, road game at Western Reserve is up next for the Bulldogs squad on Saturday, January 6. The next home game will be played at Crestline on Thursday, January 11 when they play host to the visiting Wynford Royals.