Cougars no match for No. 1 Shawnee

Van Wert independent sports

LIMA — It was the George Mangas Show at Lappin Gymnasium on Friday night, as the Shawnee senior scored 37 points to lead the top-ranked Indians by Van Wert 72-46.

Shawnee (14-0, 5-0 WBL) has won 43 consecutive regular season games, while Van Wert fell to 1-9 (0-5 WBL).

The 6-4 senior scored 11 points in the first quarter and the Indians led 24-9 at the of the period, with Aidan Pratt accounting for seven of Van Wert’s points. Mangas added 12 more points in the second quarter and Shawnee led 44-24 at halftime. Van Wert’s Ethan Brown scored 13 of his team high 15 points in the second period, including three triples.

The Indians pulled away in the third quarter and led 66-36 at the end of the period. Mangas scored 10 more and Caden Vermillion added six, while Pratt, who finished with 12 points, added five more.

The Cougars were 16-of-50 (32 percent) from the floor and 9-of-17 from the free throw line with 18 turnovers. Shawnee finished the night 28-of-50 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the foul line with 16 turnovers. The Indians held a 24-18 rebounding advantage.

Shawnee won the junior varsity contest 47-43 in overtime. Van Wert trailed 18-4 at the end of the first quarter, but battled back to force the extra session.

Van Wert will travel to Coldwater tonight.

Scoring summary

Shawnee 24 20 22 6 – 72
Van Wert 9 15 12 10 – 46

Shawnee: Brady Wheeler 4-1-10; Jarin Bertke 2-0-6; George Mangas 15-5-37; Caden Vemillion 5-2-12; Austin Miller 2-0-5; Ja’Mari Johnson 1-0-2

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 5-2-15; Owen Treece 2-2-7; Garett Gunter 2-0-4; Aidan Pratt 4-3-12; Trey Laudick 1-0-2; Ty Jackson 0-2-2; Maddix Crutchfield 1-0-2