The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

VW Cougars crush Bath, will face Wauseon

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

FINDLAY — Van Wert rolled to a big first quarter lead and went on to cruise by Bath 66-47 in the Division II sectional semifinals at Findlay High School on Tuesday.

Nate Place scored 27 points against Bath on Tuesday. Bob Barnes/file photo

The Cougars led 21-4 at the end of the first quarter, with 12 of those points coming from Nate Place. The 6-2 senior connected on a pair of treys and three baskets in the period, while Owen Treece added five points. Derek Grigsby accounted for all four of Elida’s points in the period.

Place, who finished with a game high 27 points, tacked on nine more in the second quarter and Van Wert enjoyed a commanding 38-15 halftime advantage.

“I was pleased that we got off to a great start tonight and played the right way in the first half,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said.

Drew Bagley scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter and helped the Cougars build a 59-33 lead at the end of the period. Elida’s Carter Parlapano hit three treys in the quarter.

The Bulldogs (1-22) managed to outscore Van Wert 14-7 in the final period.

“The second half got sloppy and we got a lot of guys in the game,” Bagley said. “Bath competed like crazy and their kids never gave up.”

Neither team was afraid to shoot the ball. Van Wert was 24 of 59 from the floor, while Bath was 18 of 66. The Cougars were 8 of 19 from the foul line, compared to 5 of 11 by the Wildcats. Van Wert held a 35-27 rebounding advantage and had just six turnovers.

Van Wert (14-9) will play No. 2 seed Wauseon for the upper bracket sectional championship at 6:15 p.m. Friday at Findlay. The two teams met in last year’s district semifinals at Ohio Northern University, with the Indians posting a 51-41 win.

“Wauseon is tournament tested and our guys are excited about the opportunity,” Bagley said. “We need Cougar Nation to show up and be loud on Friday night. I’m challenging our fans to help us get over the hump and be there in a sea of scarlet and gray.”

Friday’s game will air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.

Scoring summary

Van Wert 21 17 22 7 – 66
Bath 4 11 18 14 – 47

Van Wert: Owen Treece 3-0-7; Nate Place 10-3-27; LeTrey Williams 2-2-4; Blake Henry 4-0-8; 5-2-14; Clayton Proffitt 0-1-1; Jake Hilleary 1-0-2

Bath: Cyrus Burden 5-0-12; Carter Parlapano 3-0-9; Derek Grigsby 6-0-12; Jonah Wauben 0-3-3; Devon Grigsby 0-2-2; Tyler Mack 1-0-2; Austin Shakemiller 1-0-2; Cole Parlapano 2-0-5

POSTED: 02/26/19 at 11:49 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports