Cougars remain in tie for first in WBL

Editor’s note: this story has been updated to correct the time of today’s junior varsity game at Bryan, which tips off at 5 p.m., not 4 p.m. as previously stated. The VW independent apologizes for the error.

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Back-to-back scores by Van Wert early in the fourth quarter quickly swung Friday night’s Western Buckeye League basketball game against Defiance.

The Bulldogs had trimmed Van Wert’s lead to three, 32-29 on a basket by Will Horvath just one minute into the final period. However, Van Wert answered with a deep three pointer by Griffin McCracken, followed by a quick steal and layup by Xavier Kelly that pushed the lead to 37-29 with 6:30 left in the game. Kelly went on to lead the Cougars with 12 points.

“We have a great deal of trust in Griff,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “He’s a shooter and he will make shots. X’s (Xavier’s) floor game was fun to watch, he controlled the game for us.”

Zach Crummey’s two handed slam dunk with 2:20 left, followed by six straight foul shots by Keaten Welch gave the Cougars a 47-35 victory and ended Defiance’s six game winning streak. The Bulldogs dropped to 9-3 (1-3 WBL). The win keeps the Cougars (10-3, 4-0 WBL) in a first place tie with Wapakoneta and Shawnee in the WBL standings. It was also Van Wert’s first regular season win over the Bulldogs since the 2018-2019 season.

“I really liked our poise tonight as a collective group,” Best said. “What we lack at times physically we took a step in the right direction with our mental toughness. I liked that, and it’s another step for our guys.”

The game was tied 20-20 at halftime but after three lead changes in the third quarter, Van Wert took the lead for good on a consecutive baskets by Cohen Bragg late in the period. Bragg tallied six of his 10 points in the quarter.

“Cohen is just such a calm presence for us,” Best said. “We’ve been challenging him and he is growing.”

Defiance dealt with foul trouble in the third quarter as three starters had to sit with three fouls each, who picked up his second foul with less than a second to go until halftime and his third foul 30 seconds into the third quarter. The foul trouble helped the Cougars enjoy a 27-15 scoring advantage in the second half.

“We were real solid over defensively particularly in second half,” Best said. “We made a couple personnel changes and our zone got them standing late in the game. I’m just real proud of our guys playing for each other. They care.”

Van Wert finished the game 16-of-38 (42 percent) from the floor and 10-of-14 from the foul line with 22 rebounds and just five turnovers. Defiance was 14-of-35 shooting and 5-of-8 from the free throw line with 15 rebounds and seven turnovers. Josiah Schlatter, who averaged 18.4 points per game, led the Bulldogs with 12 points, including six in the second quarter.

The Cougars will play at Bryan today (5 p.m. junior varsity start).

Box score

Van Wert  12   8  12  15 – 47

Defiance   10 20    7    8 – 35

Van Wert: Xavier Kelly 4-2-12; Griffin McCracken 3-0-9; Keaten Welch 1-6-08; Zach Crummey 3-2-8; Cohen Bragg 5-0-10.

Defiance: Jordyn Wright 4-3-7; Will Horvath 4-0-9; Trey Bibler 1-0-3; Josiah Schlatter 5-2-12; Matthew Walter 1-0-2; Jackson Becker 1-0-2

JV: Defiance 44-33