VW defeats Coldwater for 5th straight win

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Add another mark to the win column.

The Van Wert Cougars extended their winning streak to five games with a 60-46 victory over visiting Coldwater on Saturday night.

Leading 32-30 at halftime, Van Wert (8-7) outscored the Cavaliers 18 to 6 in the third quarter. The Cougars opened the period with a 10-2 run, with Nate Place, Jacoby Kelly and Blake Henry supplying baskets along two foul shots by Kelly, while holding Coldwater (6-8) to a single basket by Mason Bruns.

Van Wert then closed the quarter on an 8-4 run with Kelly, LeTrey Williams and Drew Bagley hitting baskets, along with two foul shots by Place to lead 50-36 entering the final quarter.

The Cougars then enjoyed a double digit lead the entire fourth quarter with Place hitting two buckets, Drew Bagley one and Owen Treece converting four free throws.

Van Wert came out firing on all cylinders to begin the game.

Bagley broke a 5-5 first quarter tie with a bucket, then Place hit two baskets followed by another by Bagley to give the Coguars a 13-5 advantage. Coldwater’s Mitch Balster ended the run with a trey, but Van Wert responded with back-to-back triples by Bagley and Henry.

The second quarter was a back and fourth affair featuring four ties and four lead changes.

After the Cavaliers took a 23-21 lead, Bagley knocked down a pair of foul shots to tie the game but Coldwater’s Cole Frilling hit a jumper for a 25-23 lead. A shot by Kelly knotted the game at 25, followed by another tie at 27. From there, a basket by Bagley gave Van Wert a 29-27 lead, but Jacob Wenning’s three pointer gave the Cavaliers a 30-29 advantage. Undeterred, Treece drained a trey that put Van Wert up by two at the half.

“I thought ball movement was really great the first half,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said. “We made the extra pass and I think we shot pretty well, but we didn’t defensively rebound well.”

“I thought our balance was really good tonight all the way around,” Bagley added.

Bagley finished with 18 points, while Place and Kelly each had 12. Treece finished with nine and Henry had seven.

“We’re starting to find some different parts to the puzzle to get more depth,” Bagley explained. “When you play five games in nine days you have to play more people and we did tonight.”

Van Wert will host Elida on Friday night.

Scoring summary:

Van Wert 21 11 18 10 – 60
Coldwater 16 14 6 12 – 46

Van Wert: Nate Place 5-2-12; Jacoby Kelly 6-0-12; Owen Treece 2-4-9; Blake Henry 2-2-7; LeTrey Williams 1-0-2; Drew Bagley 7-2-18

Coldwater: Marcus Burns 4-3-12; Cole Frilling 5-1-11; Justin Schwieterman 1-0-2; Jacob Wenning 3-0-8; Mitch Balster 2-0-5; Myles Blasingame 2-0-2; Derek Albers 2-0-2

JV: Van Wert 53-43