Cougars play tough but fall to the Flyers

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Marion Local broke open a close game with a 13-1 third quarter run and went on to defeat Van Wert 55-52 on Saturday night.

The Cougars (3-6) have lost six of their last seven games, while Marion Local improved to 6-3 on the season.

A basket by Blake Henry gave Van Wert a 31-28 advantage with over five minutes left in the third quarter, but the Flyers went to work. Buckets by Collin Everman, Nathan Bruns and Jake Bruening gave Marion Local a 34-31 lead. A foul shot by Drew Bagley at the 3:12 mark drew the Cougars to within one, but Bruns and Everman scored consecutive baskets, then Bruns closed out the scoring with two foul shots and a basket to make it 44-32.

“He’s one of the best players in our area and he obviously took control of the game in the third quarter,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said of Bruns.

After Marion Local burned the first two minutes off the fourth quarter clock, Jacoby Kelly hit a trey, but was countered by a basket by Justin Albers. From there, Nate Place and Drew Bagley hit consecutive three pointers to draw within five, 46-41. Everman and Kelly traded buckets, then Tyler Prenger hit two foul shots to give Marion Local a 52-43 lead with 1:12 left. Place hit another triple, Everman connected on two free throws, followed by Kelly’s third trey of the quarter. However, a basket pushed Marion Local’s lead to 55-49 before Place drained a triple with five seconds left.

The two teams were tied at 12 at the end of first quarter, with Blake Henry scoring half of Van Wert’s points.

The Cougars appeared to seize control in the second quarter, as Henry accounted for four consecutive points. A short time later, Kelly hit a bucket and a trey to give Van Wert a 23-17 lead, and the Cougars went on to enjoy a 25-20 halftime lead.

“Our kids are trying so hard, they really are,” Bagley said. “We did a lot of good things in the first half, and we really preached that we could get better.”

The 6-6 Bruns finished with 17 points, while Tyler Mescher added 14. Kelly led all scorers with 22 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Henry finished with 14.

In the junior varsity contest, freshman LeTrey Williams hit two foul shots with 2.4 seconds left to give Van Wert a 37-35 victory.

The Cougars are scheduled to travel to Ottawa-Glandorf (11-0) tonight to make up Friday’s game that was postponed by inclement weather.

Scoring summary:

Van Wert        12 13 7 20 – 52
Marion Local  12 8 24 11 – 55

Van Wert: Nate Place 2-0-6; Jacoby Kelly 8-0-22; Blake Henry 6-2-14; Drew Bagley 3-1-8; Owen Treece 1-0-2

Marion Local: Nathan Bruns 7-2-17; Collin Everman 3-2-8; Nick Tangeman 1-0-2; Jack Buening 1-0-2; Tyler Prenger 1-2-5; Tyler Mescher 7-0-14; Matt Rethman 0-1-1; Justin Albers 2-2-6