Bagley scores 18, VW beats Coldwater

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

COLDWATER — After posting wins over Kalida and Kenton, Van Wert capped off a perfect 3-0 week by holding off Coldwater 60-58 on Saturday.

The victory boosted Van Wert’s record to 8-7, while the Cavaliers dropped to 7-8.

“Our kids battled like crazy and finished a great week by winning three games in five days,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said. “All of our players competed the right way and want to keep getting better.”

Trailing 41-37 after a Marcus Bruns third quarter trey, the Cougars closed the period with a 13-0 run. Lawson Blackmore’s basket started the scoring, Nate Place hit a triple, then Owen Treece drilled two three pointers and a bucket to give the Cougars a 50-37 lead entering the fourth quarter. As a team, the Cougars were 12 of 21 from three point range.

A pair of foul shots by Drew Bagley gave Van Wert a 60-52 advantage late in the final period, but Cole Frilling dropped in a pair of treys, but a last ditch three point attempt by the Cavaliers was off the mark.

Bagley finished with 18 points, including four treys, while Owen Treece finished with 13. Blake Henry tallied 11 points and Place finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Frilling led Coldwater with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Bruns had 12.

Van Wert led 12-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Cavaliers responded with a 23-19 scoring advantage in the second period to trim Van Wert’s lead to 31-29 at halftime.

Van Wert will travel to Elida on Friday then will host Bryan on Monday.

‘We will take a few days off to recover and get ready for Elida on Friday,” Bagley said.

Scoring summary

Coldwater 6 23 12 17 – 58
Van Wert 12 19 19 10 – 60

Coldwater: Marcus Bruns 6-0-12; Cole Frilling 6-2-16; Justin Schwieterman 3-0-6; Jacob Wenning 2-0-5; Ben Wenning 2-0-6; Noah Miller 2-1-5; Myles Blasingame 3-0-8

Van Wert: Owen Treece 5-0-13; Nate Place 3-0-8; Blake Henry 4-1-11; Lawson Blackmore 2-2-6; Drew Bagley 6-2-18; Clayton Proffitt 1-1-4

JV: Coldwater 48-42