Cougars cut down taller Roughriders 64-59

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Longtime WERT radio play-by-play broadcaster Scott Alan said it best – it was a dandy at The Den.

Van Wert toppled much taller St. Marys Memorial 64-59 on Tuesday night, snapping a six game winning streak by the Roughriders (11-7, 4-3 WBL) and giving the Cougars (12-6, 3-3 WBL) their fourth win in five games.

It appeared momentum had shifted when the Roughriders took a 39-32 lead early in the third quarter, but the Cougars rattled off seven unanswered points, including a triple by Luke Wessell, a bucket by Ethan Brown and a pair of free throws by Garett Gunter to tie the game 39-39.

“I glanced up at the scoreboard and noticed we were down seven points and we’ve been there before this season,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. “For whatever reason it flips a switch and we play a little harder and Luke made a big three there.”

The two teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the quarter and the game was tied 46-46 entering the final period. Van Wert took the lead for good when Aidan Pratt opened the fourth quarter with a quick bucket, then added another before Brown soared in for a layup that gave the Cougars a 52-48 lead with 4:50 left.

The Roughriders came within two, 59-57, but Carson Smith converted an uncontested layup with 30 seconds left to put Van Wert ahead 61-57. From there, Smith coverted 3-of-4 foul shots to seal the victory.

“Carson may be getting close to being our second leading scorer,” Laudick said. “He’s becoming a consistent scorer, he stretches the defense and he’s shooting it well from three point range and he’s a good free throw shooter as well.”

Smith finished with 13 points, while Pratt was the leading scorer with 14, including 12 in the second half. Gunter added 19 points and Wessell finished with nine.

The Cougars led 19-15 after the first quarter, with Smith hitting two of Van Wert’s five treys in the period. St. Marys Memorial countered with eight points from 6-10 junior Austin Parks and seven by 6-6 sophomore Jace Turner.

Parks, who scored a game high 28 points, added eight more in the second quarter, Gavin Reincke pumped in a pair of triples and the Roughriders took a 32-29 lead into halftime. Van Wert was without Pratt for the final 90 seconds of the first quarter and the entire second quarter, after the 6-4 junior picked up his second foul.

“The guys that came in to replace Aidan did the best they could against Parks, who’s really hard to guard,” Laudick said. “I’m really pleased with our bench and all of our guys.”

“I really think Garett Gunter played his best basketball game as a Van Wert Cougar,” Laudick added. “He may not have had as many assists or whatever but it was a complete basketball game and that’s what we’ve been looking for.”

Both teams shot the ball well, with Van Wert connecting on 23-of-40 shots, compared to 24-of-38 by St. Marys Memorial. The Cougars converted 10-of-14 free throws while the Roughriders hit 6-of-9. The visitors held a 17-10 rebounding advantage and committed 10 turnovers, including eight in the second half, while Van Wert had just four turnovers.

Van Wert will host Elida in the home finale on Friday.

“People are going to look at Elida’s record (3-16, 0-7 WBL) and think they’re not good, but they play hard,” Laudick said of the Bulldogs. “They’re young, they’re scrappy and gritty. “We’re going to have to play well again because all WBL opponents are hard, it doesn’t matter what their record is.”

Box score

Van Wert 19 10 17 18 – 64
Memorial 15 17 14 13 – 59

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 4-0-8; Carson Smith 4-3-13; Garett Gunter 3-2-10; Trey Laudick 3-0-7; Aidan Pratt 6-2-14; Nate Phillips 0-3-3; Luke Wessell 3-0-9

St. Marys Memorial: Kyle Steininger 0-1-1; Brayden Sullivan 1-2-4; Gavin Reineke 2-1-7; Evan Angstmann 3-0-8; Austin Parks 13-2-28

JV: St. Marys Memorial 35-32