Cougars shut down Wauseon, win 51-30

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports

PAULDING – How good was Van Wert’s defense against Wauseon?

The top seeded Cougars held the Indians to just two baskets in a span of 17 minutes from late in the first quarter to late in the third quarter. Van Wert outscored No. 4 seed Wauseon 28-5 in the second and third quarters combined and went on to a 51-30 win in the Division IV district semifinals at Paulding High School Tuesday night. The victory puts the Cougars in the district championship game.

Leading 15-12, Van Wert (18-6) scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, which capped a 14-0 scoring run. Xavier Kelly turned a steal by Griffin McCracken into a basket, Zach Crummy grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on hook shot, then Cohen Bragg drilled a triple from the left win and later added a bucket and foul shot to put the Cougars ahead 25-15. Riley Riegsecker ended Wauseon’s scoring drought with a three pointer but McCracken answered with a trey of his own, put Van Wert up 28-15 at halftime.

“Our defense is what kept us moving along when we got some rough stretches offensively,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “We didn’t shoot it very well in certain situations. No. 11 (Riegsecker) is a tough matchup because he’s always open and he’s going to shoot it from anywhere. I thought Cohen did a really good job on him, Caden did a really good job on him.”

McCracken added two more triples in the third quarter and Crummey turned another offensive rebound into a bucket. A jump shot by Keaten Welch put the Cougars ahead 38-17 with 2:30 left in the period. Welch added a trey and Caden Collins scored on a wide open layup to Van Wert a commanding 43-17 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Wauseon (8-16) led 9-6 in the first quarter, but Kelly took charge, scoring seven straight points and Crummey grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer to put the Cougars ahead 15-12.

“He brings that element, that unscoutable element,” Best said of Kelly. “When he plays within himself and plays within the confines what we want to do, he’s a fairly tough kid to guard. I thought ‘X’ did a good job of getting other guys involved and found himself at the rim instead of settling for jump shots.”

“Cohen was solid for us and he just does all the little things,” he continued. “All seven guys that got in the game tonight provided us with something and in a tournament situation, that’s so crucial.”

Kelly finished with 11 points and for the second straight game, Crummey had a double-double with 10 points, including a two handed slam dunk in the fourth quarter, and 12 rebounds. McCracken and Welch each finished with nine points and Bragg added eight. Riegsecker led all scorers with 16 points.

Van Wert hit 22-of-43 shots (51 precent) and 2-of-3 free throws while grabbing 23 rebounds and committing eight turnovers. Wauseon was 12-of-34 shooting (35 percent) and 2-of-5 from the foul line with 19 rebounds and 14 turnovers.

The Cougars will face Galion in the district championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Paulding. The Tigers (8-16) defeated Clear Fork 54-44 at Mansfield Sr. Tuesday night.   

Box score

Van Wert  15  13  15   8 – 51

Wauseon  12    3    2 13 – 30

Van Wert: Kavien Welch 1-0-2; Xavier Kelly 5-1-11; Griffin McCracken 3-0-9; Keaten Welch 4-0-9; Caden Collins 1-0-2; Zach Crummey 5-0-10; Cohen Bragg 3-1-8

Wauseon: Xzaiver Molina 2-0-4; Jack Altstaetter 2-2-6; Riley Riegsecker 6-0-16; Gavin Fisher 1-0-2; Bodie Vasvery 1-0-2