Pratt leads Cougars to upset win vs. O-G

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

For the second Saturday in a row, Van Wert’s Aidan Pratt helped the Cougars pull out a win with some late game heroics.

The 6-4 sophomore forward, who drained a game winning triple as time expired against St. Henry, hit a free throw with no time left in regulation against state ranked Ottawa-Glandorf (No. 8, Division III) to tie the game 53-53, then converted another foul shot with under a second left to go in the extra session, giving the Cougars a 54-53 upset win.

“While at the line I wasn’t too nervous,” Pratt said. “My teammates and coaches kept me confident during the timeouts and they were saying it’s just a free throw and I that I got it. I believe that helped with the moment a little.”

Pratt finished with 16 points, including six from the foul line.

“Our guys just hung in there and continued to battle,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. “We didn’t do everything right but we did just enough to figure things out and take care of business.”

“Wins against O-G don’t come very often – they’re very difficult just because of their program and what Tyson (McGlaughlin) does there,” the coach added. “They have a great program, but our guys are resilient and they’re doing everything that we ask and it was an A+ effort tonight.”

Trailing 53-52, the Cougars turned the ball over with 14.9 second left when Owen Treece slipped and was whistled for traveling. However, Van Wert got the ball back immediately when Nate Jackson tipped Ottawa-Glandorf’s ensuing inbounds pass to Treece. After a timeout, Pratt went down the middle of the lane and was fouled on a layup attempt as time expired. He missed the first free throw attempt but connected on the second, forcing an extra session.

Ottawa-Glandorf won the overtime tip and held on to the ball for the first 3:50 before a traveling call gave it to Van Wert with 9.6 seconds left. Again, Pratt was sent down the middle of the lane and was fouled with .7 seconds left and just like the end of regulation, he missed the first and made the second one.

“With the big guy being out (6-7 Owen Nichols, fouled out), I knew that I had to be more aggressive to the rim,” Pratt explained. “On a night like this, plays aren’t necessarily designed for one guy but I believe that me getting to the rim would possibly get me open or spread the court out to get someone else a shot. Van Wert hasn’t seen a win like this in a while – awesome team win!”

The Cougars were aggressive from the start, winning the opening tipoff and scoring on an Ethan Brown layup five seconds into the game. Brown (10 points) and Treece each scored six points in the first quarter and Pratt added five and Van Wert led 17-16 at the end of the period.

“The message before the game was it was going to be 32 minutes, maybe more, and we had to treat it like a boxing match, where there might be times we got knocked down or we knock them down and it’s about who can get back up and retaliate best,” Laudick said. “We hit some early shots and got some confidence and maybe knocked them on their heels a little bit, but they’re a good basketball team and they returned the favor a couple of times.”

Van Wert trailed 31-25 late in the second quarter, but the Cougars finished the period with an 8-2 run to tie the game 33-33 at halftime, with Treece scoring six of the eight points.

Treece, who finished with 24 points, added 10 more in the third quarter, including a pair of triples and Van Wert led 45-39 before the Titans closed the period with a pair of baskets.

After a pair of ties early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars took a 52-51 lead two Pratt free throws with 2:37 left. Nichols converted a layup with 2:20 remaining in regulation but it would be the final time the Titans would score, and Nichols would later foul out of the game. He finished with a team high 17 points, and Eli Schmenk added nine.

After an 0-7 start to the season, Van Wert (9-10) has won 9-of-12 games, and the Cougars are scheduled to host Parkway on Tuesday before closing the regular season at home against Celina on Friday.

Scoring summary

Cougars 17 16 12 8 1 – 54
Titans 16 17 10 10 0 – 53

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 4-2-10; Owen Treece 9-3-24; Garett Gunter 2-0-4; Aidan Pratt 5-6-16

Ottawa-Glandorf: Carter Schimmoeller 1-0-2; Brennan Blevins 3-0-6; Caleb Kuhlman 2-0-4; Eli Schmenk 3-1-9; Landon Jordan 1-0-3; Will Kaufman 2-0-4; Owen Nichols 8-1-17; Collin White 3-2-8

JV: Ottawa-Glandorf 41-33