Cougars cruise by Elida in WBL opener

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

Van Wert won the middle two quarters in a big way during Friday’s Western Buckeye League opener against Elida.

The Cougars, who trailed the Bulldogs 18-13 early in the second quarter, switched to zone defense which sparked a 15-4 run and a 28-22 halftime lead. After the break, Van Wert went on a 15-3 scoring run on the way to a 61-36 win over the visitors.

The defensive switch seemed to give the Cougars (3-0) new life. Jonathan Payne, who scored six of his 11 points in the opening quarter, was held scoreless until the second half. In addition, Elida (0-5) was held to single digits in each of the final three quarters.

“I thought our effort was really good in the first half but we were playing a little bit too fast,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “We talked about getting off to a good start and sometimes they interpret that as meaning they have to score 10 points on their first possession, but I thought defensively we switched over to the zone…coach Helm made that suggestion. That was key for us because it made them stand, it kept their quickness at bay, kept us out of foul trouble and once we got into some rhythm and made stops, we got some things in transition.”

During the second quarter run, Griffin McCracken drilled a three pointer, then a bucket off an offensive rebound by Zach Crummey tied the game at 18. From there, Xavier Kelly drained a triple, followed by a layup by Crummey, a basket by Kelly and a buzzer beating three pointer well beyond the top of the key by McCracken than made it 28-22.

In the third quarter, a right corner three by Caden Collins pushed the lead to 34-25 and from there, Van Wert enjoyed a 12-0 scoring run, including a steal and layup by Kelly and four points by Crummey. By the end of the third quarter, the Cougars led 47-29.

Crummey finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Kelly had 14 points in the win.

“When we needed to execute in the half-court we worked through Zach and that was crucial for us,” Best said. “He’s a presence – we don’t have another physical presence and he has a lot on his shoulders to not only produce for us but to stay out of foul trouble. He’s better this year verbally and he’s got a lot of varsity games under his belt in football and basketball, so it’s been fun to watch him grow and be more comfortable in his own shoes.”

With starter Cohen Bragg sidelined with an ankle injury, Micah Cowan scored nine points, all in the second half, and Collins added seven points and a key third quarter steal.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” Best said of Cowan and Collins. “You just never know and obviously we’re shorthanded without Cohen and that’s huge loss – Cohen does so many good things for us, but I’m really happy with our guys off the bench. Micah obviously played very well and he’s a super athletic kid that is starting to figure his place out and what he can do for us. Caden just brings energy to us and hit that three to get us going. Kaiven (Welch) came in and gave us some minutes.”

“This was a good win for us,” he added. “We’re not super deep but we keep developing depth.”

After the slow start, the Cougars shot the ball well, hitting 25-of-46 attempts, but just 6-of-15 foul shots. Elida converted 16-of-44 shot attempts  and 3-of-6 free throws. Van Wert won the rebounding battle 28-21.

The Cougars will travel to Kalida tonight, with the junior varsity game tipping off at 6 p.m.

Box score

Cougars   9  19  19  14 – 61

Bulldogs 13    9    7    7 – 36

Van Wert: Xavier Kelly 6-1-14; Griffin McCracken 3-1-9; Keaten Welch 1-1-3; Caden Collins 3-0-7; Micah Cowan 4-1-9; Zach Crummey 8-2-19

Elida: Jonathan Payne 5-1-11; Gavin Tickle 1-0-2; Marcus Hill 1-1-3; Noah Jostpille 5-1-11; Brody Altenbach 1-0-3; Payton Hinkle 1-0-2; Jonan Snyder 1-0-2

JV: Elida 50-36