Cougar boys get 63-41 win over Shawnee

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

It was reasonably close for three quarters, but a Van Wert offensive explosion in the final quarter made it a blowout as the Cougars defeated Shawnee 63-41 in Western Buckeye League action Friday in the Cougars’ Den.

Van Wert is now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Indians fall to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the WBL.

Cougar Michael Smelser (9) goes up high for a layup during Friday night's WBL contest with Shawnee, which was won by Van Wert 63-41. (Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent) — Cougar Michael Smelser (9) goes up high for a layup during Friday night’s WBL contest with Shawnee, which was won by Van Wert 63-41. (Jan Dunlap/Van Wert independent)

The Cougars had three players in double figures, led by Michael Smelser and Connor Holliday, who each had 15 points. Matt Bidlack added 13 points, while Nathan Stoller nearly reached double-figure status, with 9 points.

Shawnee was led by Jaden O’Neal’s 14 points, while Trey Brock had 11 points on the night.

Five points separated the two teams at the end of one quarter of play, with Van Wert leading 17-12. The Indians got two points of that back in the second quarter and trailed by three points, 28-25, at the half.

The Cougars took the basket and another point back in the third quarter, outscoring Shawnee 11-8 to go up by six, 39-33, heading into the fourth quarter.

The final stanza was big for Van Wert, as the Cougars scored 24 points, while holding Shawnee to just eight points to end the game with a 22-point victory.

The Cougars again struggled from three-point range, knocking down just 6 of 20 (30 percent), but were deadly on two-pointers, making 16 of 27 (59.3 percent) for the game. Van Wert canned 13 of 20 free throws (65 percent).

The Indians hit 1 of 9 three-point attempts (11.1 percent) and made 15 of 37 from two-point range (40.5 percent). Shawnee was 8 of 13 from the charity stripe (61.5 percent).

The Indians had the better of it in rebounding, bringing down 30 caroms to 25 for Van Wert, but also had more turnovers, 17-13, than the Cougars.

The Van Wert junior varsity team also won, 52-41, to brings its record up to 3-2 on the year. Colin Smith led the Cougars with 15 points, while Zach Casey had 12 points for Shawnee’s JVs.

Van Wert will next play December 27 at Lima Central Catholic in a non-league match-up.

POSTED: 12/21/13 at 6:11 am. FILED UNDER: Sports