Coaches Corner: Van Wert’s Mark Bagley

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It was just what the doctor ordered for the Cougars – a 58-55 Western Buckeye League home victory over Shawnee (11-3) on Friday, followed by a 64-40 road win over Bryan (5-9) on Saturday.

Those wins snapped Van Wert’s four game losing streak, and head coach Mark Bagley said the little things were big factors both nights.

“Both Friday and Saturday we were able to stop any kind of large momentum runs with defensive stops and rebounded well both nights,” Bagley said. “We also finished each quarter on a positive note all eight times which is outstanding. It obviously helps when you shoot the ball well and we were over 50 percent both nights with an incredible 11-16 from 3 on Saturday night.”

Bagley believes the two victories are a big shot of confidence for the Cougars (5-7, 1-3 WBL).

“Our players were showing signs of breaking out against two outstanding teams in Marion Local and Ottawa-Glandorf and it paid off last weekend,” Bagley said. “They felt great Saturday night and we are continuing to talk about the process of getting better each day and pressing on.”

After playing three games last week, the Cougars will play a trio of games this week – at Kalida tonight, at Kenton on Friday, then home against Coldwater on Saturday.

“They are playing great basketball and are 11-2 on the year,” Bagley said of Kalida. “They have lots of size and are playing to their strengths on offense with an inside-out attack and are very solid defensively in man and 1-3-1 (zone). Their average score is 50-41 so we want the pace picked up and play fast.”

“Four of their top eight players are 6-3 or taller and they are put together very well,” Bagley added. “It’s a great mid-week challenge to build on the momentum we have started.”

With six games bunched together into such a short period of time, Bagley noted the Cougars are spending more time mentally preparing during the tough stretch.

“The mental aspect is 4:1 to the physical and we are spending more time watching film and doing scouting reports in the classroom setting,” Bagley explained. “Our floor time is much shorter and we try to really emphasize the little things that will make us successful. We still have some guys banged up, but it is a next man up mentality and the kids love it when we play more games.”