Cougars finish strong, top St. Henry 54-41

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A late third quarter triple by Carson Smith keyed a run that allowed Van Wert to pull away from St. Henry at the Cougar’s Den on Saturday.

A bucket by St. Henry’s John Hartings had pulled the Redskins to within one, 36-35, when Smith stepped beyond the arc in the left corner and drilled a trey that sparked a 20-6 run that eventually gave the Cougars a 54-41 win.

“He’s been on an upward swing and becoming that third consistent scorer that we’ve been looking for a while,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said of Smith. “I’m real pleased with what he’s doing and he’s shooting with confidence.”

Smith finished with 14 points, including four treys, as the Cougars improved to 11-6.

St. Henry’s Evan Bowers hit a three pointer to open the fourth quarter but Van Wert responded with nine unanswered points, including a pair of free throws and a basket by Garett Gunter, giving the Cougars a 50-38 lead.

The game began as a back-and-forth affair with Van Wert holding a 16-13 lead after the opening quarter. Aidan Pratt and Luke Wessell each scored four points in the period, and Wesell pulled down four offensive rebounds. Bennett Gels hit a pair of three pointers for the Redskins (10-8).

The Cougars increased the lead to 28-21 at halftime, with Ethan Brown accounting for four points and Smith and Pratt each adding three.

A pair of baskets and a free throw by Pratt gave Van Wert a 34-25 lead midway through the third quarter, but St. Henry chipped away and trimmed it to one before Smith’s big shot.

Pratt finished with 14 points, Gunter added nine and the Cougars finished 19-of-43 from the floor and 11-of-16 from the foul line. Bowers led St. Henry with 11 points and the Redskins were 15-of-52 shooting and 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Van Wert finished with a 33-31 rebounding advantage.

Van Wert will play three Western Buckeye League games this week, Tuesday at home against St. Marys Memorial, Friday’s home finale against Elida, and at Kenton on Saturday.

“We have a difficult week ahead but we’re just going to take it one game at a time,” Laudick said. “Each one of those teams presents a different test in their own unique way.”

Box score

Van Wert 16 12 13 13 – 54
St. Henry 13 8 14 6 – 41

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

St. Henry: Seth Heitkamp 2-1-5; Bennett Gels 3-1-9; Evan Bowers 4-0-11; Jaden Lange 2-2-6; Sam Koesters 2-0-6; John Hartings 2-0-4

JV: St. Henry 64-54