Cougars post 34-point win over Kenton

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Van Wert scored a season high 21 points from the foul line, which helped the Cougars pull away from Kenton for a 68-34 win in the regular season finale at the Cougar’s Den on Friday.

In a strange start, the game actually began from the foul line, as both teams were assessed a technical foul before taking the court – Kenton for not having starters turned in on time and Van Wert because of a mistake in the starting lineup in the scorebook. Kenton’s Blaine Bushong hit both of his attempts while Van Wert’s Griff McCracken converted 1-of-2 technical shots.

More than halfway through the first quarter, Kenton led 10-9 but from there the Cougars went on a 29-8 scoring run that spanned the remainder of the opening period and the entire second quarter. It included an 20-2 run by Van Wert, with Xavier Kelly hitting a short running jumper at the first quarter buzzer, second quarter foul shots by Keaten Welch and Zach Crummey and back-to-back triples by Nate Gearhart and McCracken. Crummey scored eight of his 13 points in the second quarter, including a crowd pleasing alley-oop slam dunk, and Gearhart, the team’s lone senior, had a pair of treys in the period to help Van Wert to a commanding 40-20 halftime lead.

“If we had to have only one senior, Nate would be the guy I would pick out of a crowd,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “He’s selfless, he loves his teammates, he loves his team and he’s incredibly coachable. He’s just a good-hearted kid that is in it for all the right reasons and for me to work with him for one year – I’ve been blessed.”

Three of Van Wert’s four third quarter buckets were treys, including back-to-back three pointers by Kelly and McCracken, plus another by Gearhart, who finished with nine points. The Cougars also connected of 7-of-8 foul shots in the period and finished the game 21-of-29.

“That’s something we’ve been working on, not just shooting free throws but getting more attempts,” Best explained. “A month ago we went several games where we weren’t even in double figures in free throw attempts, so that’s been good to see these last six to seven games – our free throw attempts have been up. We’ve love to make a few more but at least we’re attacking the basket and getting the ball in the post a little bit more.”

Much of the fourth quarter saw plenty of action by Van Wert’s reserves and late in the game, the continuous clock rule went into effect, which happens when a team leads by 35 or more. When the dust settled, nine different Cougars scored and the team featured a balanced attack. Crummey led Van Wert with 13 points, McCracken had 12 points and Kelly and Welch each finished with 10. The Cougars finished 19-of-45 from the floor and had just three turnovers, while winning the battle of the boards 23-16.

“I thought for the most part we played the game with a purpose,” Best said. “We talked about doing things out way. We wanted to do things during the game and not let Kenton dictate our decision making. I was pretty pleased with our guys for the most part. When you can clear your bench and get everybody in the game when you’re on the positive side of that – it continues to be a culture builder for us.”

“It was good for us to be able to get everyone in the game when the outcome is in our favor,” he added. 

Kenton was led in scoring by Dawson Miller, who finished with 12 points. The Wildcats finished 11-of-28 shooting and 8-of-12 from the foul line with 15 turnovers.

With the victory, the Cougars finished regular season 9-12 (5-4 WBL) while the Wildcats suffered their 20^th consecutive loss and finished 1-20 (0-9 WBL). The two teams will meet again in the Division IV sectional semifinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Van Wert High School. Van Wert is the No. 5 seed in the Findlay district, while Kenton is the No. 10 seed. 

“We talked about resetting,” Best said. “Everybody is 0-0 now. Earlier in the year we talked about the possibility of a home tournament game and our guys are excited about that and I hope they show up – I think they will and play with purpose and passion. It’s a whole new environment but I anticipate our guys will be ready to play.

The winner of Tuesday’s game will travel to Elida next Friday to face the top-seeded Bulldogs.

Box score

Cougars  18  22  18  10 – 68

Wildcats  12    8    7    7 – 34

Van Wert: Kaiven Welch 1-0-3; Xavier Kelly 3-2-10; Griff McCracken 3-4-12; Keaten Welch 2-6-10; Nate Gearhart 3-0-9; Andrew Terhark 1-0-3; Zach Crummey 3-7-13; Cohen Bragg 2-2-6; Trey Dotson 1-0-2

Kenton: Steven Piper 1-0-2; Blaine Bushong 1-3-5; Luke Hogendolder 1-0-2; Kyle Barrett 2-0-4; Lukas Anderson 1-0-3; Dawson Miller 5-1-12; Isaac Anderson 2-2-6

JV: Van Wert 58-17