Cougars hang on to down Lima Perry

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The Van Wert Cougars hit clutch free throws down the stretch, and held off the Perry Commodores 62-55 in the home opener at The Den.

The Cougars (3-2) hit just one basket in the fourth quarter, a three-pointer by Nate Place with 4:45 left, but went 8 of 10 from the charity stripe, including 5 of 6 by Place, who finished with a game high 24 points. Blake Henry and Drew Bagley each had 11 for Van Wert.

Friday night’s win over highly regarded Perry was a big one for the Cougars.  The Commodores returned five senior starters from last year’s team that went 19-3 in the regular season, and went on to qualify for the Division IV regionals.

“We had some alumni come in and simulate the best they could with their athleticism,” head coach Mark Bagley said. “It’s so fun to watch former players come back and help.”

“We’re a really young team that hasn’t won consistently,” Bagley added. “I think it was a total team effort, but Nate Place’s three in the corner (in the fourth) was huge for us.”

Van Wert shot 46 percent from the floor (22-48, including 7-16 three- pointers), 73 percent from the free throw line (11-15), and pulled down 27 rebounds.  Dylan Lautzenheiser had nine of those rebounds.

Perry shot 36 percent from the floor (20-55, including 3-12 from three-point range), 67 percent from the free throw line (10-15), and had 24 rebounds.

The Cougars got off to a fast start, as Jacoby Kelly scored two of Van Wert’s first three baskets to build an 8-2 first quarter lead. Later in the quarter, a Nick Gutierrez three-pointer gave the Cougars a 14-6 lead.  The Commodores closed the gap with two three-pointers by Plummie Gardner but trailed 19-16 after one quarter.

The Cougars led 25-22 in the second quarter before going on a 13-0 run to push the lead to 16, 38-22. Place accounting for eight of those points, with two treys and a two-point basket. Henry drilled a three-pointer, and Bagley muscled in a two-point basket.  Perry’s Jamal Whiteside scored Perry’s final basket of the quarter to make it 38-24.

The Commodores (4-2) battled back in the second half by clamping down defensively and trimming the lead to 51-41 in the third quarter, then holding the Cougars scoreless for nearly half of the fourth quarter, while creeping to within five, 51-46. Place’s three-pointer put Van Wert up 54-46, but Perry responded with a basket by Kobe Glover and two free throws by Jakoby Lane Harvey to make it 54-50.  Place hit two free throws, but Perry’s Lamonte Nichols countered with two of his own to make it 56-52.

From there, the Cougars used free throws by Lautzenheiser, Place and Bagley to ice the game.

“Our kids were resilient and kept fighting back,” Bagley said. “I thought (defensively) we did a good job on the guys we needed to.”

Van Wert made 22 of 48 field goal attempts (45.8 percent), including 7 of 16 from the three-point range (43.8 percent). The Cougars were 11 of 15 at the free throw line (73.3 percent). Perry was 20 of 58 from the field (34.5 percent) and made 3 of 12 three-point attempts (25 percent). The Commodores were 10 of 14 from the line (71.4 percent).

Van Wert will host Delphos St. John’s Tuesday night, and Lima Central Catholic Friday night. Both games will air live on WERT 1220 AM and 104.3 FM, and The Van Wert Independent, www.thevwindependent.com.

Box score

Van Wert 19  19  13  11–-62

Perry        16    8  17  14–-55

Van Wert (62) — Jacoby Kelly 7, Nate Place 24, Nick Gutierrez 3, Blake Henry 11, Dylan Lautzenheiser 6, Drew Bagley 11. Totals: 22 11-15 62.

Perry (55) — Plummie Gardner 8, Orion Monford 3, Jackoby Lane Harvey 10, Kobe Glover 18, Lamonte Nichols 6, Jamal Whiteside 8, Logan Dray 2. Totals: 20 10-14 55.

JVs: Van Wert won 44-37