Cougars down Bath in WBL match-up

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

Hit with an offensive blitzkrieg by co-Western Buckeye League leader Lima Bath in the first half, the Van Wert Cougars responded with their own offensive weapon – senior Corey Clifton – in the second half for a 66-59 Western Buckeye League victory that left the Cougars alone atop the league standings.

Bath hit 15 of 23 field goal attempts in the first half (65.2 percent) to earn a 34-34 tie at the end of the first half. The Wildcats led 20-18 at the first stop, but were outscored 16-14 by Van Wert in the second quarter.

Clifton then stepped it up, scoring 21 of his 35 points – and most of the team’s 32 second-half points – to help provide the margin of victory for the Cougars. Clifton’s point total was the highest by any player in the region so far this season.

The key to the win was free throws, as Van Wert, usually just an okay free-throw shooting team, canned 16 of 20 (80 percent) in Friday night’s game. That compares to Bath’s 8 of 19 free throws (42.1 percent).

The Wildcats were hot from the field, though, knocking down 21 of 36 field goal attempts for 58.3 percent, including 3 of 8 from three-point range (37.5 percent). Van Wert, which averages over 50 percent field goal shooting a game, was slightly under that on Friday. The Cougars made 19 of 39 field goal attempts (48.7 percent) and were 4 of 11 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

In addition to Clifton, Jacob Myers was also in double figures, with 14 points on the night, while Johnny Simindinger led Bath with 24 points and Brad Davis added 14 points for the Wildcats.

The teams were even in rebounding, with both bringing down 20 boards in the game, while the Cougars were slightly better in the turnover department, losing the ball 11 times to 13 for Bath.

With the win, Van Wert is now 9-0 on the season and 3-0 in the WBL, while the Wildcats fall to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Cougars will play Decatur (Ind.) Bellmont in a makeup game today, starting at 1 p.m., but will return to league play against the Celina Bulldogs (8-2, 2-1 WBL) next Friday. That game will begin at 6 p.m.

The Van Wert junior varsity team also won, downing their Wildcat opponents 41-32 in the opening game on Friday. The Cougar JVs were led by Chad Phillips’ 12 points, while AJ Smith added 9 points for Van Wert. The top Bath scorer was Jacob Raesky, who had 13 points for the Wildcat JVs.

With the win, Van Wert’s junior varsity team is now 6-3 on the year.

Also on Friday, the Lincolnview Lancers parlayed a second-half offensive effort into a 53-49 victory over Delphos Jefferson in Northwest Conference action at Lincolnview.

The Jeffcats led 15-14 in the first quarter, but a 12-4 second quarter gave Lincolnview a 26-19 lead and the Lancers maintained an advantage through the remaining two quarters.

Jefferson did cut three points off the lead and trailed by four points, 37-33, heading into the final quarter of play. But the Wildcats could not overcome that advantage as both teams played even in the fourth period and Lincolnview was able to hold on for the win.

The Lancers were led by Sloan Whitaker’s 21 points, while Jack Frank added 12 points for Lincolnview. Delphos Jefferson’s high scorer was Nick Dunlap, who scored 14 points in the game, followed by Ryan Ebbeskotte’s 11 points. Logan Bonifas and Mitch Antalis both scored 9 points for the Wildcats.

Paulding also defeated Crestview, 49-37, in another NWC match-up at Paulding. No other information was available from that game.