Editor’s note: this story has been updated to correct the time of today’s junior varsity game at Bryan, which tips off at 5 p.m., not 4 p.m. as previously stated. The VW independent apologizes for the error.
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
Back-to-back scores by Van Wert early in the fourth quarter quickly swung Friday night’s Western Buckeye League basketball game against Defiance.
The Bulldogs had trimmed Van Wert’s lead to three, 32-29 on a basket by Will Horvath just one minute into the final period. However, Van Wert answered with a deep three pointer by Griffin McCracken, followed by a quick steal and layup by Xavier Kelly that pushed the lead to 37-29 with 6:30 left in the game. Kelly went on to lead the Cougars with 12 points.
“We have a great deal of trust in Griff,” Van Wert head coach Jeremy Best said. “He’s a shooter and he will make shots. X’s (Xavier’s) floor game was fun to watch, he controlled the game for us.”
Zach Crummey’s two handed slam dunk with 2:20 left, followed by six straight foul shots by Keaten Welch gave the Cougars a 47-35 victory and ended Defiance’s six game winning streak. The Bulldogs dropped to 9-3 (1-3 WBL). The win keeps the Cougars (10-3, 4-0 WBL) in a first place tie with Wapakoneta and Shawnee in the WBL standings. It was also Van Wert’s first regular season win over the Bulldogs since the 2018-2019 season.
“I really liked our poise tonight as a collective group,” Best said. “What we lack at times physically we took a step in the right direction with our mental toughness. I liked that, and it’s another step for our guys.”
The game was tied 20-20 at halftime but after three lead changes in the third quarter, Van Wert took the lead for good on a consecutive baskets by Cohen Bragg late in the period. Bragg tallied six of his 10 points in the quarter.
“Cohen is just such a calm presence for us,” Best said. “We’ve been challenging him and he is growing.”
Defiance dealt with foul trouble in the third quarter as three starters had to sit with three fouls each, who picked up his second foul with less than a second to go until halftime and his third foul 30 seconds into the third quarter. The foul trouble helped the Cougars enjoy a 27-15 scoring advantage in the second half.
(more…)POSTED: 01/17/26 at 12:00 am. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
COLUMBUS GROVE — It wasn’t easy but Lincolnview remained perfect in NWC play with a 61-56 road win over Columbus Grove on Friday night. The victory, coupled with Allen East’s loss to Crestview put Lincolnview (11-2, 3-0 NWC) in sole possession of first place in the conference. The Lancers are the only team without a loss in conference play.
“We knew it would be a tough, physical game,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “They are a hard matchup for us. It was back-and-fourth the entire game.”
Lincolnview led 19-15 after one quarter and 29-26 at halftime. The two teams were deadlocked 43-43 after three quarters and Columbus Grove (5-5, 1-2 NWC) took the lead early in the final period, but the Lancers fought back.
“They punched us in the mouth in the fourth quarter and our guys responded well,” Hammons said. “We were proud of the way we competed and came away with a big conference win against a very good team.”
The Lancers had three players finish in double figures. Max Hammons led the way with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including three treys. Marshall Hammons had 15 points and six rebounds, and Gavin Evans added 14 points and seven rebounds. As a team, Lincolnview was 22-of-44 from the floor, including 15-of-24 from two-point range. The foul line was key as well, with the Lancers connecting on 10-of-11 attempts.
Columbus Grove also had three players in double figures. Brady Basinger had 18 points, Trevon Baxter had 16 points and eight rebounds and Landon Best netted 14 points and seven rebounds. The Bulldogs finished connected on 23-of-52 shots (44 percent), but were just 2-of-15 from three point range and 8-of-15 from the free throw line. Columbus Grove finished with a 29-22 rebounding advantage.
Lincolnview will play at Antwerp tonight.
Box score
Lancers 19 10 14 18 – 61
Bulldogs 15 11 17 13 – 56
Lincolnview: Max Hammons 7-3-20; Zander Coil 3-0-7; Gavin Evans 5-4-14; Chayse Overholt 2-0-5; Marshall Hammons 5-3-15
Columbus Grove: Brady Basinger 7-4-18; Gavin Barraza 2-0-4; Trevon Baxter 7-2-16; Landon Best 5-2-14; Gage Sautter 2-0-4
POSTED: 01/17/26 at 12:00 am. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
HARROD — Crestview’s season got off to a rough start with just one win in five games against a loaded schedule. As of late though, the Knights have won six of their last seven games, including a 68-57 victory at Allen East Friday night. Meanwhile, the Mustangs, who started the season 7-0, have lost five of their last six games.
The 68 points is a season high for Crestview.
“I’m proud of the way our guys executed tonight,” head coach Doug Etzler said. “It was a very good team win on the road for us.”
Behind seven first quarter points by Hayden Perrott, the Knights got out to a 15-13 lead. Perrott added six more points in the second quarter and Cash Hammons chipped in with five points to give Crestview a 35-24 halftime lead. Owen Hecker scored eight of his 12 points in the third quarter, which helped the Knights to a 49-38 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Perrott scored seven more points in the final stanza and finished with a game high 20 points. Will Sheets was steady throughout the night and finished with 16 points, hitting two baskets in each of the four quarters.
“”We did a good job attacking the basket off the bounce and also did a good job of finding will on his post ups,” Etzler stated. ““When we missed shots we did a great job of attacking the offensive boards and got several second chance points.”
The Knights had 16 offensive rebounds in the game.
Keagan Jones led Allen East with 13 points, Brady Brooks added 12 and Camden Smith chipped in with 11.
(more…)POSTED: 01/16/26 at 11:58 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Here are final scores of area boys high school basketball games played on Friday, January 16.
GMC
Edgerton 66 Antwerp 56
Fairview 54 Tinora 44
Paulding 54 Ayersville 37
Wayne Trace 71 Hicksville 41
MAC
Coldwater 57 Versailles 50
Delphos St. John’s 66 Marion Local 36
Fort Recovery 63 Minster 51
New Bremen 45 Parkway 22
St. Henry 62 New Knoxville 25
NWC
Crestview 67 Allen East 58
Lima Central Catholic 64 Bluffton 57
Lincolnview 61 Columbus Grove 56
PCL
Miller City 61 Ottoville 58
WBL
Bath 69 Kenton 37
Ottawa-Glandorf 59 Elida 24
Shawnee 64 Celina 44
Van Wert 47 Defiance 35
Wapakoneta 37 St. Marys Memorial 32
POSTED: 01/16/26 at 9:46 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports/submitted information
Van Wert hosted Defiance Bulldogs WBL wrestling action on Thursday and it was the Bulldogs that came away with a 54-26 victory. With the loss the Cougars dropped to 3-2 on the season. Individual results are as follows:
106 – Owen Bates (VW) 18-0 technical fall over Tristen Draper (D)
113 – Westen Mast (D) fall :54 over Heath Calvelage (VW)
120 – Briceton Sampson (D) forfeit
126 – Tyler Stockman (D) fall 5:34 over Ryan Wallace (VW)
132 – Roman Martin (VW) fall :46 over Keeghan Rittenhouse (D)
138 – Gavin Gonzalez (VW) 17-8 major decision over Nathaniel Marchant (D)
144 – Sam Mast (D) fall :48 over Braddex Agler (VW)
150 – Devon Burker (VW) 20-4 technical fall over Van Foreman (D)
157 – Briggs Wallace (VW) fall 2:52 over Evan Hamot (D)
165 – Evan Davis (D) fall 1:29 over Alden Delgado (VW)
175 – Marcello Rhoda (D) fall :39 over Carter Heath (VW)
190 – Abel Paxton (D) fall 3:34 over Auston Welker (VW)
215 – Tyler Kiessling (D) forfeit
285 – Alex Hinojosa (D) forfeit
The Cougars are back in action Saturday when they travel to Archbold to compete in the Chuck Forward Duals.
POSTED: 01/15/26 at 9:39 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Allen East 55 Crestview 51 (overtime)
CONVOY — Crestview and Allen East were tied 45-44 at the end of regulation, but the Mustangs outscored the Lady Knights 10-6 in overtime and won 55-51 on Thursday.
The game was close throughout, with Allen East (7-9, 1-1 NWC) leading 14-13 after one quarter and Crestview leading 22-20 at halftime. The Mustanges carried a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter but Kaci Gregory scored six points and Zoe Ross added five points of her seven points in the final period to force the extra session.
Gregory finished with 18 points and Lillie Best added 13 points.
Crestview (7-9, 2-2 NWC) will host Van Wert on Tuesday.
Defiance 51 Van Wert 38
DEFIANCE — A slow start was too much for Van Wert to overcome as the Cougars fell to Defiance 51-38 on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs led 12-4 at the end of the first quarter and 25-15 at halftime. The lead grew to 47-28 after three quarters, but Van Wert enjoyed a 10-4 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter. Katie DeAmicis led the Cougars with 20 points, with 18 coming after halftime, including four treys. Amaya Dowdy finished with nine points. Defiance’s Bella Rowlison led all scorers with 21 points, including 15 in the second half.
Van Wert (0-14, 0-4 WBL) will travel to Crestview on Tuesday.
Columbus Grove 63 Lincolnview 29
Columbus Grove jumped out early and never looked back on the way to a 63-29 victory over Lincolnview on Thursday.
The Bulldogs (12-2, 5-0 NWC) led 15-5 at the end of the first quarter and 33-13 at halftime, with Nicole Nesby scoring 10 of her 19 points in the second quarter. Columbus Grove’s Kendal Palte scored nine of her 14 points in the third quarter and It was 50-24 at the start of the fourth quarter. Annabel Hortsman led Lincolnview with nine points, including seven in the third quarter. Keira Breese had six points, all in the first half.
Lincolnview (6-9, 1-2 NWC) will host Hicksville on Saturday.
POSTED: 01/15/26 at 9:38 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
Paulding 52 Van Wert 27
Paulding used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Van Wert 52-27 on Tuesday.
Kate Manz scored 11 points, including six in the second quarter, Tori Schlatter and Kayleigh Dunham scored 10 apiece and Estie Pease scored nine points, all on treys in the third quarter. The Panthers led 12-8 after the first quarter, 24-9 at halftime and 38-19 after three quarters. Amaya Dowdy led Van Wert with 12 points, with nine coming in the second half.
Van Wert (0-13) will play at Defiance on Thursday.
Lincolnview 52 Antwerp 28
ANTWERP — Lincolnview led 13-12 after the first quarter, then held Antwerp to 16 points in the remaining three quarters combined for a 52-28 win on Tuesday.
Keira Breese scored 11 points in the first half and finished with 13, while Kassidy Hammons scored nine of her 11 points in the third quarter. Destiny Breese hit three treys and finished with nine points. Antwerp (5-10) was led by Briley Bagley, who finished with 13 points, including seven in the first quarter.
Lincolnview (6-8) will host Columbus Grove on Thursday.
Crestview 39 Coldwater 38
COLDWATER — Crestview trailed after the first quarter and at halftime, but the Lady Knights were able to turn the tables in the second half and beat Coldwater 39-38 win over Coldwater Tuesday night.
Coldwter led 12-6 after one quarter and 20-19 at halftime, but Crestview’s Kaci Gregory caught fire in the second quarter with six points, then kept the ball rolling with nine points in the third period. She finished with a game high 19 points, while Lillie Best added eight points. Mia Knapke led Coldwater with 14 points.
Crestview (7-8) will host Allen East on Thursday.
POSTED: 01/14/26 at 7:37 am. FILED UNDER: Sports
VW independent sports
LIMA — Lincolnview enjoyed a sweep over Elida at Westgate Entertainment Center Monday evening.
Led by Pacey Early’s 180-191-371 series, the Lancers defeated the Bulldogs 2403-2355. Owen Dannenfelser was right behind with a 154-208-362 series, followed by Grayden Clay (162-130-292), Carson Cowdrick (154), Aaron Garay (145), Zach Newell (143) and Chandler Murphy (125).
The girls’ team posted a 2293-1810 victory, with Gwen Goins leading all bowlers with a 147-213-360 series, followed by Aubrey Ricker (169-169-338), Hadley Goins (147-158-305), Lilly Holdgreve (139-115-254), Abby Dannenfelser (134) and Dancia Taylor (98).
POSTED: 01/13/26 at 9:40 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports
This week’s installment of Random Thoughts centers around a stellar weekend for Lincolnview, a matchup of No. 1 and undefeated teams, a fun fact, a key WBL boys basketball game and a quick observation about Ohio State.
What a weekend
Friday night’s boys basketball game between Lincolnview and Spencerville went right down to the wire. In fact, in the closing seconds it looked like the game was going to overtime until Lancer guard Zander Coil had the block heard around the Northwest Conference and beyond. The Lancers won 75-73 over the Bearcats and the celebration began immediately after that.
But hold on, there’s another game in 24 hours, on the road against then once-beaten Miller City. The Wildcats have an outstanding team and Miller City is a tough place to play, plus there’s the possible letdown factor. Not with Lincolnview though. The Lancers trailed by four entering the fourth quarter, then outscored the Wildcats 19-5 in the fourth quarter for a 68-58 win.
With all due respect to all other area teams, I don’t think anyone had a better weekend than the Lancers, who now sit at 10-2 (2-0 NWC).
12-0 vs. 10-0
Two undefeated teams will meet in Maria Stein Friday night and it’s a certainty there won’t be an empty seat in the place.
10-0 (3-0 MAC) Marion Local will host 12-0 (3-0) Delphos St. John’s in a key conference game. Both teams are ranked No. 1 in their respective divisions by MaxPreps – Marion Local in Division VI and Delphos St. John’s in Division VII.
I’ve seen both teams in person and I’ll just say they couldn’t possibly be more different, at least in terms of style of play. Something has to give in this one. It’s classic offense vs. defense. In fairness, I will note that while Marion Local plays outstanding defense, the Blue Jays are also top notch defensively. What a game it should be.
Fun fact
The last MAC loss by Delphos St. John’s came nearly three years ago – February 17, 2023, to…Marion Local, at Marion Local, 58-48. Since then, the Blue Jays have won 21 straight conference games.
(more…)POSTED: 01/12/26 at 10:50 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
Parkway outscored Crestview in each of the four quarters and the Panthers defeated the Lady Knights 48-25 on Monday night. Five different players scored for Parkway in the first quarter and the Panthers led 15-5 at the end of the period, then went on to lead 25-9 at halftime. Brittyn Bruns hit a pair of treys in the third quarter and Parkway led 38-21 entering the final period. Bruns and Abby Williamson each scored 11 points for Parkway while Madelyn Stover added nine points. Peyton Hoffman and Haley McCoy each scored seven points for Crestview. Crestview (6-8) will travel to Coldwater tonight and Parkway (11-2) will head to New Bremen on Thursday. Shown above is Crestview’s Kaci Gregory guarding Parkway’s Cami Langenkamp. Wyatt Richardson/VW independent
POSTED: 01/12/26 at 10:49 pm. FILED UNDER: Sports
