{"id":138629,"date":"2020-12-28T23:32:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T04:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=138629"},"modified":"2020-12-28T23:33:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T04:33:27","slug":"treece-scores-44-but-cougars-falls-in-2-ots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/12\/28\/treece-scores-44-but-cougars-falls-in-2-ots\/","title":{"rendered":"Treece scores 44, but VW falls in 2 OTs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COLUMBUS GROVE — Owen Treece scored a school record 44 points but it wasn\u2019t enough, as Van Wert dropped a 65-61 double overtime heartbreaker to Columbus Grove on Monday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5-11 senior guard also topped the 1,000 career point mark with a layup at the 3:55 mark in the third quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just an all around awesome kid and he\u2019s the catalyst of our team,\u201d Van Wert head coach Ben Laudick said. \u201cHe\u2019s the engine that makes us go and I could kind of tell today that he had a different focus. He\u2019s going to will our young pups to get better and he was positive in our locker room, telling them to get their heads up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Owen Treece fires up a three-point attempt against Columbus Grove. He finished with a school record 44 points. Wyatt Richardson\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The two teams found themselves tied 51-51 at end of four quarters and 59-59 after the first overtime, with Treece scoring all eight of Van Wert\u2019s points in the extra stanza, including two treys and a bucket. However, the Bulldogs outscored Van Wert 8-2 in the second overtime, with Tayt Birnesser accounting for four of those points from the foul line. He finished with 29 points while teammate Blake Reynolds added 23, with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter and the extra sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cougars had a chance to tie the game, but turned the ball over under the basket with 3.3 seconds left in the second overtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the loss, Laudick said he believes his team is knocking on the door to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in northwest Ohio,\u201d Laudick said. \u201cI\u2019m really proud of our guys effort and I know they\u2019re hurting a little bit right now because we were one or two plays away and my message to them was just believing. I think they do and our coaching staff believes in them 100 percent as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert trailed 16-13 after the first quarter then led 26-25 at halftime. Treece scored 20 points in the first half, while Birnesser accounted for 13 of his team\u2019s points. Van Wert held a two-point lead, 42-40, after three quarters, with Treece adding 11 more points, while Birnesser and freshmen Bo Birnesser combined for 13 of Columbus Grove\u2019s 15 points in the period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A deep triple by the elder Birnesser gave Columbus Grove (5-1) a 47-43 lead with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars were able to eventually take a 51-49 lead on a trey by Nate Jackson and a free throw by Garett Gunter. However, Reynolds hit a pair of foul shots with 12.4 seconds left to tie the game 51-51 and force overtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the dust settled, Columbus Grove converted 15-of-21 free throws, compared to 7-of-10 by Van Wert. The Bulldogs also enjoyed a 28-24 rebounding advantage, while Van Wert had just 11 turnovers, compared to 16 by Columbus Grove. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trending in the right directon,\u201d Laudick said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the results we want but I\u2019m happy with the way we\u2019re heading.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert (0-5) is scheduled to play at Defiance on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scoring summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Col. Grove 16 9 15 11 8 6 \u2013 65
Van Wert 13 13 16 9 8 2 \u2013 61<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Columbus Grove: Bo Birnesser 2-1-7; Blake Reynolds 7-9-23; Tayt Birnesser 10-5-29; Ethan Halker 2-0-4; Brayden Bellman 1-0-2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert: Ethan Brown 2-0-4; Owen Treece 17-5-44; Garett Gunter 0-2-2; Ty Jackson 1-0-2; Aidan Pratt 2-0-4; Nate Jackson 1-0-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JV: Van Wert 39-23<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor COLUMBUS GROVE — Owen Treece scored a school record 44 points but it wasn\u2019t enough, as Van Wert dropped a 65-61 double overtime heartbreaker to Columbus Grove on Monday night. The 5-11 senior guard also topped the 1,000 career point mark with a layup at the 3:55 mark in the third […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-01 01:13:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}