Cougars shut down Wapakoneta 45-33

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

WAPAKONETA — The Van Wert Cougars gave head coach Ben Laudick a nice birthday present on Friday – a 45-33 Western Buckeye League win over Wapakoneta.

The victory boosted Van Wert’s record to 7-3 (2-1 WBL), while the Redskins dropped to 5-5 (0-3 WBL).

“The guys had been joking about it all week that it would be a cool birthday present,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. “I really love the guys we have. They get along great and the effort and enthusiasm is contagious, and we had a little fun in the locker room for the birthday.”

Wapakoneta jumped out to a 10-4 first quarter lead but the Cougars closed the period with nine unanswered points in the final 1:26 to lead 13-10. The run included a pair of Maddix Crutchfield foul shots, a basket by Luke Wessell, a trey by Nate Phililps and a steal and layup by Carson Smith at the buzzer.

A bucket by Wapakoneta’s Kaden Siefring gave the Redskins a 16-15 lead but the Cougars responded with an 8-0 run in the final 90 seconds for a 23-16 halftime lead. Ethan Brown, who also celebrated a birthday with a win, converted a bucket and ensuring foul shot, Aidan Pratt hit a three pointer and Crutchfield added a basket.

Wapakoneta closed the gap to two, 28-26, late in the third quarter but a basket by Brown and two foul shots by Pratt gave the Cougars a 32-26 lead at the end of the period.

Van Wert was able to expand the lead to double digits in the fourth quarter with Pratt adding four points and Brown converting 4-of-4 free throws.

Pratt led the Cougars with 14 points while Brown finished with nine. Siefring led all scorers with 18.

Van Wert finished 15-of-34 from the floor and 13-of-17 from the foul line, compared to 13-of-41 and 5-of-7 by Wapakoneta. The Cougars enjoyed a substantial rebounding advantage, 31-16.

“I’m real pleased with our defensive effort,” Laudick said. “Any time you can hold anybody to 33 points I think you have a pretty good chance to win. I think we took a step forward defensively against an opponent with some really good athletes.”

The Cougars will host Marion Local today (4 p.m. JV start).

Scoring summary

Van Wert 13 10 9 12 – 45
Wapakoneta 10 6 10 7 – 33

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 2-5-9; Garett Gunter 3-1-7; Aidan Pratt 5-3-14; Nate Phillips 2-0-5; Carson Smith 1-0-2; Maddix Crutchfield 1-4-6; Luke Wessell 1-0-2

Wapakoneta: Kaden Siefring 7-2-18; Braeden Goulet 8-1-9; Grant Bauer 1-0-2; Jackson Courter 1-0-2; John Buchanan 0-2-2

JV: Wapakoneta 54-19