Fourth quarter run keys Cougar win

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

After a month of road games, Van Wert celebrated a return the Cougar’s Den with a 57-47 Western Buckeye League win over Wapakoneta on Friday. The victory boosted Van Wert’s record to 5-9 (2-3 WBL).

“I had to re-acquaint myself with how to get into this gym on game night,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best quipped. “We had five straight road games and it was definitely nice to get back here in the Cougar’s Den.”

Friday’s game was close for three quarters and the two teams began the fourth quarter deadlocked at 39-39. However, Van Wert opened the final period with an 11-1 scoring run, then used free throws down the stretch to cement the win.

Keaten Welch keyed the fourth quarter run with a layup and a trey from the right wing, while freshman Zach Crummey sandwiched in a pair of important baskets. Meanwhile, the Cougar defense kept the Redskins bottled up for much of the quarter.

“We were able to get a few stops,” Best said. “They were spacing the floor and trying to take advantage of some driving lanes and we had a little trouble with that but I thought we got a couple of key stops and then we converted offensively. We had some really good possessions tonight when it counted and we did a pretty good job of making free throws down the stretch.”

Crummey, who missed the final 90 seconds of the first quarter and the entire second quarter after picking up his second foul, finished the game with 16 points and Welch scored six of his seven points in the fourth quarter. Best said it was one of the more consistent games offensively for the Cougars this season.

“I thought we had pretty good balance,” he stated. “It’s good to see Griff (McCracken) and Cohen (Bragg) knock down shots because that only opens up lanes for Keaten and ‘X’ (Xavier Kelly) as well as putting the ball in the post with Zach.”

McCracken drilled four treys and went on to finish with 15 points and Bragg added eight points, including a pair of triples. As a team, Van Wert was 8-of-13 from three point range and 19-of-39 overall from the floor. The Cougars also converted 11-of-16 foul shots and out-rebounded the taller Redskins 22-18.

Wapakoneta (5-8, 1-4 WBL) barged out to a 10-5 first quarter lead, with all 10 points coming from guard Blake Rogers. The Cougars countered with seven points by Crummey and a triple each by McCracken and Bragg and trailed 16-14 at the end of the period. McCracken added two more treys in the second quarter, Bragg had one and Kelly chipped in with a pair of buckets and the Cougars led 29-26 at the break. In the third quarter, Wapakoneta’s Ryan Richardson hit two buckets, including a three pointer and Caleb Moyer added two baskets to help tie the game entering the final period. Moyer led all scorers with 17 points, while Rogers finished with 14.

Best noted the energy from the crowd was a key factor in the game.

“I’m pleased and proud of our crowd,” he said. “I think we had a great crowd tonight and they were connected with our kids and that’s part of the culture we’re trying to build. We talk to our kids about it but our people are part of that as well. Our kids felt it and it helped us in the fourth quarter.”

The Cougars will return to action today at home against Bryan. The junior varsity game will tip off at 5 p.m.

Box score

Cougars   14  15  10  18 – 57

Redskins  16  10  13    8 – 47

Van Wert: Xavier Kelly 2-3-7; Griff McCracken 4-3-15; Keaten Welch 2-2-7; Caden Collins 1-0-2; Micah Cowan 1-0-2; Zach Crummey 6-3-16; Cohen Bragg 3-0-8

Wapakoneta: Caleb Moyer 6-5-17; Blake Rogers 6-0-14; Elliot Block 1-0-2; Ryan Richardson 4-0-11; Caleb Adams 1-1-3

JV: Wapakoneta 60-41