Shawnee ends VW’s season in overtime

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

ADA — So close.

That may be the best way to describe Van Wert’s heartbreaking 58-54 overtime loss to Shawnee in the Division II district championship game at Ohio Northern University’s King Horn Sports Center on Saturday.

“Our players believed we were going to win,” an emotional Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said after the game. “I’m obviously very proud, I’m also a father right now to not only my son (Drew) but to the rest of my seniors because I’ve known them since they were kindergarteners.”

“This will heal over time, but I’ve never been more proud of a group of young men because they did things the right way, they represented our community and our school with class.”

“They played their butts off,” Shawnee head coach Mark Triplett said of the Cougars. “Coach Bags is a friend of mine and he’s a great guy. It’s an emotional game for him with his son and I feel terrible for him, but hats off to them for the game they played.”

Nate Place hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to give Van Wert a 46-43 lead with 43 seconds left in regulation, but Shawnee’s George Mangas, who had struggled throughout most of regulation, drilled a 25 foot trey from the right wing that tied the game with 23 seconds left. Before that shot, Mangas had scored four points. The 6-5 sophomore went on to finish with 14.

“It was the definition of adversity and finding a way to get it done,” Triplett said.

A jump shot by Place missed the mark as time expired, sending the game to overtime.

Place, who scored all of his team high 17 points in the second half, opened the scoring in the extra session with a foul shot, then a layup by Drew Bagley put the Cougars up 49-46 with 2:19 left. Shawnee’s Johnny Caprella, who finished with a game high 19 points, hit a pair of foul shots to bring the Indians to within one, then Bagley converted one of two foul shots to give Van Wert a 50-48 lead with 1:38 left.

Mangas then scored Shawnee’s next seven points on a triple and four free throws, while Van Wert countered with a pair of foul shots by Blake Henry and two more by Place to pull to within two, 55-53 with 16 seconds left.

Justin Behnke split a pair of foul shots, then Place hit the first and purposely missed the second. Tyson Elwer grabbed the rebound, was fouled and hit both shots for the final margin. Elwer finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, and the Indians out rebounded Van Wert 39-23. Bagley and Lawson Blackmore each had eight rebounds for the Cougars.

“We got tired,” Bagley said. “Unfortunately our rotation got shorter and they do shorten up in the tournament run. That’s one area as a coach you beat yourself up a little.”

The Cougars stormed out to a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter then led 23-15 early in the second quarter. Owen Treece scored 10 of his 12 points in the opening period, including treys to open and close the quarter.

“They came out and hit us in the mouth and they threw adversity in our face,” Triplett said.

Shawnee finished the second quarter with an 11-2 run, with Tyson Elwer and Caprella each scoring four, including a buzzer beating layup by Caprella that gave the Indians a 26-25 halftime lead.

“I told them I wanted the lead at halftime and we picked up our defense and energy a little bit and made life difficult for them,” Triplett explained. “That stretch going into halftime was huge because they dominated the half, but we still found a way to jump out in front.”

Both teams scored eight points in the third quarter, and the lead changed hands four times and two ties. Place ended the quarter with a steal and two handed dunk to trim the deficit to one, 34-33 entering the fourth quarter.

For the game, Van Wert was 18 of 40 from the floor and 15-24 from the foul line, while Shawnee was 20-55 from the floor and 11 of 13 from the free throw line.

Shawnee (23-2) will play Cleveland Central Catholic in the regional semifinals at Bowling Green on Thursday. Van Wert’s season came to an end at 16-10.

“I told the kids don’t let this game define who you are,” Bagley said. “Sports are important, but don’t let something like this define who you are. There are bigger and better things for these young men.”

Scoring summary

Shawnee 15 11 8 12 12 – 58
Van Wert 19 6 8 13 8 – 54

Shawnee: Justin Behnke 1-1-4; Johnny Caprella 8-2-19; Sheridan O’Neal 1-0-3; George 4-4-14; Tyson Elwer 3-4-11; John Barker 1-0-3; Jake Hutchins 2-0-4

Van Wert: Owen Treece 4-2-14; Nate Place 5-7-17; Blake Henry 2-1-6; Lawson Blackmore 2-3-7; Drew Bagley 4-1-9; LeTrey Williams 1-1-3