Cougars win sectional title over Napoleon

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

The free throw line was good to No. 1 seed Van Wert Thursday night, as the Cougars enjoyed a 52-37 Division IV sectional championship victory over visiting Napoleon.

The Cougars hit their first 13 foul shots and finished the night 18-of-20. In addition, Zach Crummey recorded a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

“I was very proud of the way our group responded to some adversity this week,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “We’ve dealt with lots of sickness and limited practice. Winning is hard and is never to be taken for granted. Our guys earned a sectional championship tonight and I’m very happy for them.”

The two teams traded baskets early in the first quarter and at one point, the No. 7 seeded Wildcats led 7-5. Keaten Welch then gave the Cougars the lead for good with six successive points, including a pair of layups, including one off a steal, and a pair of free throws. After Napoleon’s Briggs Abbott hit a trey, Xavier Kelly drilled a triple of his own, giving Van Wert a 14-10 lead. Welch scored again before the end of the period, giving Van Wert a 16-11 lead to start the second quarter.

Caden Collins drained a three pointer from the right corner early in the second quarter, then an offensive rebound and putback by Griffin McCracken pushed Van Wert’s lead to 21-11. Napoleon (4-19) responded with back-to-back treys by Hayden Gerken and Kelby Parsons, but those would the only points in the quarter for the Wildcats. By halftime, Van Wert led 25-17.

The Cougars began to pull away in the third quarter, with Welch scoring five points, including a trey from the top of the key with just under five minutes left and a steal and free throw line jumper late in the period, and four points each by Collins and Crummey.

Van Wert led 40-26 to start the fourth quarter. The Cougars had just two baskets in the fourth quarter – both by Crummey, including an uncontested two-hand slam dunk with under a minute left, but they converted 8-of-10 free throws in the period. Both teams cleared their benches in the closing seconds of the game.

In addition to Crummey’s double-double, Xavier Kelly finished with 12 points and Welch had a team high 15 points. The Cougars were 15-of-33 from the floor with 22 rebounds and seven turnovers.

Parsons led all scorers with 19 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were 14-of-36 from the floor and 4-of-10 from the foul line with 13 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

The win puts the Cougars in the Division IV district semfinals against No. 4 seed Wauseon at 6 p.m. Thursday at Paulding High School. The Indians (8-15) advanced with a 48-37 win over No. 5 seed Elida.

“We will do our best to gather data and information on Wauseon,” Best said. “They have the same amount of time to prepare for us.”

Box score

Van Wert  16   9  15  12 – 52

Napoleon  11  6    9   11 – 37

Van Wert: Xavier Kelly 2-6-12; Griffin McCracken 1-2-4; Keaten Welch 5-4-15; Caden Collins 2-3-8; Zach Crummey 5-3-13

Napoleon: Briggs Abbott 1-0-2; Zach Borton 2-0-4; Kelby Parsons 8-0-19; Hayden Gerken 2-0-6; Lukas Gerken 1-3-5; Simon Durham 0-1-1