Bulldogs ride big second half to a win

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

It sounds cliché but it was definitely a tale of two halves, at least for Defiance.

In the first half of Friday night’s game at Van Wert, the Bulldogs shot just 21 percent from the floor. In the second half, Defiance seemingly couldn’t miss, going 18-of-22 from inside the arc as the Bulldogs claimed a 59-46 win over the Cougars.

Defiance forwards Brogan Castillo and Kahlil Ligon were the main catalysts in the second half. Castillo scored all 12 of his points in the third and fourth quarters, while Ligon poured in 17 of his 19 points after the break.

“They just pounded it inside with Castillo and Ligon in the second half,” Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. “It was tough.”

Van Wert led 10-3 after the first quarter, with Rylan Miller and Keaten Welch each scoring four points in the period. However, the Cougars were outscored 14-2 in the second quarter, including a buzzer beater by Logan Hutcheson that gave Defiance a 17-12 halftime lead.

“I think through our first nine games we’ve gotten off to very slow starts in the first quarter and this is a game we actually got off to a really good start, and our second quarter has generally been one of our better quarters this season,” Laudick said. “They cranked up their pressure in the second quarter and it got us off-balance a little bit.”

Welch led Van Wert (2-8, 0-2 WBL) with 17 points, including eight in the third quarter, while Rylan Miller finished with 10 points. As a team, the Cougars finished 16-of-37 from the floor and 12-of-18 from the foul line. The Bulldogs converted 25-of-55 action shots and 7-of-14 free throws. Defiance (4-5, 1-1 WBL) held a commanding 30-18 advantage on the boards, including 14 offensive rebounds.

“I felt like we boxed out okay, it’s just our reaction to go get the rebound…sometimes they were just a step quicker for us,” Laudick said. “It’s kind of been an Achilles heel for our first 10 games. We know we’re probably not going to out-rebound many teams, it’s just that sense of urgency to go get it – we were lacking it in certain possessions when we really needed to get a rebound.”

The Cougars were without their leading rebounder (6.9 per game), Conner Campbell, who’s also the team’s second leading scorer 11.6 per game). The 6-2 senior guard missed the game with an ankle injury.

“He’s a big part of what we do, he’s a good athlete and we definitely missed him tonight,” Laudick said.

Van Wert will host Lincolnview in a special girls/boys varsity doubleheader starting at 4 p.m. today. The Lancers (4-4) were off Friday night and enter the game on a three-game winning streak.

“They’re playing well right now, they’re shooting the ball really well now,” Laudick said. “In a way they’re kind of similar to us – they’re not a huge team but they’re finding a way to put the ball in the basket. We have to defend the perimeter and keep them in front of us and when the shots go we have to rebound and secure the ball.”

Box score

Defiance 3 14 20 22 – 59
Van Wert 10 2 12 22 – 46

Defiance: Logan Hutcheson 2-0-4; Brez Zipfel 1-0-2; Garret Rodenberger 3-0-6; Jordyn Wright 1-1-3; Antonio Lopez 2-4-8; Josiah Schlatter 2-0-5; Brogan Castillo 6-0-12; Kahlil Ligon 8-2-19

Van Wert: Gage Stemen 1-0-2; Kaden Shaffer 3-1-9; Rylan Miller 4-2-10; Keaten Welch 7-3-14; Collin Haggerty 2-4-8

JV: Van Wert 39-29