VW Cougars win again, 54-46 over Bath

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

LIMA — It wasn’t exactly easy but Van Wert put the wraps on a 16-6 (6-3 WBL) season with Friday’s 54-46 victory over Bath.

It was the seventh straight win by the Cougars and the 16 regular season wins is the most by a Van Wert team since the 2010-2011 season.

“Our schedule was very challenging and we knew we had some guys coming back and we needed some guys to step up,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. “We got a late start due to football but I’m not complaining about it. It took a little bit to find our stride and once the calendar hit 2022 we played some really good basketball.”

Van Wert trailed 12-3 with two minutes left in the first quarter but from there, the Cougars put together a 15-1 run that ran into the second period. Nate Phillips, Carson Smith and Luke Wessell hit three consecutive triples to spark the run, then a steal and buzzer-beating layup gave Van Wert a 14-13 lead entering the second period.

“We knew Bath would get off to a quick start so my message was ‘we can’t panic’ and I thought our guys kept their composure really well,” Laudick said. “We had some guys come in and hit some shots and it kind of made us relax a little bit. I think we really clamped down defensively too.”

Gunter and Wessell converted back-to-back buckets early in the second quarter to increase the lead to 18-13. Meanwhile, the Cougars held the Wildcats to just four points in the quarter, all on foul shots by Cole Craddock and Van Wert led 23-17 at halftime.

The Cougars were able to extend the lead to 10 twice in the third quarter, 30-20 and 34-24, then settled on a 38-31 advantage entering the final period.

The Wildcats stayed within striking distance for most of the fourth quarter and trailed by just five on two occasions. However, Gunter came up big, scoring eight of his game high 16 points in the period.

“He was really good with the ball in his hands,” Laudick said of Gunter. “He’s a real coachable kid and he took advantage of most opportunities tonight. He’s playing really well and we’re going to need that from him and others as we head into next week.”

Smith and Aidan Pratt each scored 10 points for Van Wert and Wessell added nine. The Cougars finished 20-of-40 from the floor and 8-of-13 from the foul line with 23 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Britton Hall was the only Wildcat in double figures, with 10. Bath connected on 15-of-45 floor shots and 11-of-14 free throws with 25 rebounds and 15 turnovers.

Van Wert will face Wauseon in the Division II sectional finals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lima Sr.

“We’re going to give the guys the next two days off and then we’ll have four days to prepare for Wauseon,” Laudick said. “I’m working on trying to get some other bodies in the gym to shake the week up a bit. It’s a new season, everyone is 0-0 and we get to play for a sectional title which is really cool.”

Box score

Cougars 14 9 15 16 – 54
Wildcats 13 4 16 13 – 46

Bath: Griffin Mikesell 1-0-2; Drake Craddock 2-1-7; Britton Hall 3-3-10; Cole Craddock 1-4-6; Jonah Wauben 2-3-7; Andrew Stahr 3-0-8; Ian Armentrout 2-0-4; Lucas Prichard 1-0-2

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 1-0-3; Carson Smith 4-0-10; Garett Gunter 7-2-16; Aidan Pratt 4-2-10; Nate Jackson 1-0-3; Nate Phillips 1-0-3 Luke Wessell 2-4-9

JV: Bath 52-45