VW rides by the Roughriders 47-33

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

ST. MARYS — Van Wert accomplished two firsts on Friday night. The Cougars won their first WBL road game of the season and won for third time in as many tries.

Leading 8-7 late in the first quarter, the Cougars went on a 15-1 scoring run, then answered the bell several times in the second half and came away with a 47-33 win over St. Marys Memorial.

Cohen Bragg got Van Wert (6-9, 3-3 WBL) off to a good start by drilling back-to-back treys, giving the Cougars a 6-0 lead. After the Roughriders narrowed the gap to one, Van Wert scored the final five points of the quarter, including a left corner trey by Nate Gearhart that gave the visitors a 13-8 lead. The Cougars then scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, including consecutive treys by Gearhart and Keaten Welch that helped extend the lead to 23-8.

“It was important for us to get off to a good start and Nate and Cohen hit shots to get us going,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said.

Van Wert went on to enjoy a 27-16 halftime lead but the Roughriders weren’t done. In the third quarter, a triple by Kasey Gross helped trim the deficit to just six, 31-25, but a bucket by Griff McCracken and a three pointer by Caden Collins pushed Van Wert’s lead back to 11, 36-25 at the end of the quarter. As a team, the Cougars went on to connect on 7-of-15 three point attempts.

The Roughriders (3-11, 1-5 WBL) made another push early in the fourth quarter, when Alex Hoenie scored and Gross splashed in a trey to make it 36-30, but the Cougars quickly squashed any hope of a comeback. An 8-0 scoring run by Van Wert gave the Cougars a comfortable 44-30 lead. The run included a short jumper and a pair of free throws by Zach Crummey, a steal and layup by McCracken and a basket by Welch, who later closed out the scoring with three consecutive foul shots. Van Wert finished 6-of-10 from the foul line, compared to 1-of-2 by St. Marys.

“I was pleased with our poise when St. Marys made a couple of runs and we were able to answer,” Best said. “That was growth.”

Welch and McCracken each scored 11 points for Van Wert, Crummey added eight and Bragg and Gearhart each scored six. Gearhart, along with Collins and Micah Cowan, provided solid minutes off the bench.

“I’m particularly pleased with the continued development of our guys off the bench,” Best said. They are giving us a nice lift.”

The Cougars finished with a 21-14 rebounding advantage. Each team committed eight turnovers.

Van Wert will play at Coldwater tonight.

Box score

Van Wert  13  14   9  11 – 47

St. Marys    8    8   9    8 – 33

Van Wert: Xavier Kelly 1-0-2; Griff McCracken 5-0-11; Keaten Welch 3-4-11; Nate Gearhart 2-0-6; Caden Collins 1-0-3; Zach Crummey 3-2-8; Cohen Bragg 2-0-6

St. Marys Memorial: Kasey Gross 3-1-8; Ryan Monfort 2-0-6; Alex Hoenie 3-0-7; Aiden Meinerding 1-0-3; Brennan Steger 2-0-5; Parker Beam 2-0-4

JV: St. Marys Memorial 56-38