The Van Wert County Courthouse

Friday, Mar. 29, 2024

Coaches Corner: Bagley, Hammons, Best

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Two local teams – Van Wert and Lincolnview – are trying to shake off successive losses, while Crestview is 7-3 after a 3-2 start. This week’s Coaches Corner features thoughts from coaches Mark Bagley, Brett Hammons and Jeremy Best

Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley

The Cougars have lost five of their last six games and are coming off a weekend they’d like to forget. After a 53-37 home loss to St. Marys on Friday, Van Wert traveled to Fort Wayne and fell to Fort Carroll 74-32 on Saturday.

Mark Bagley

“I thought last week we had our best four days of practice that we have had all year long,” head coach Mark Bagley said. “The performance we had on Friday night totally caught me off guard. I think whenever you shoot poorly it magnifies all of your weaknesses.”

“Saturday we played the best team on our schedule,” Bagley said of the Indiana Class 4A Chargers. “They played phenomanally well, and I think were still kind of stunned (by Friday night). We tried to move on and tried to move forward, but shot horribly.”

“We played against athletes with a skill level that we haven’t seen all year,” Bagley added.

Despite last week’s results, Bagley said the team is working hard to fix offensive and defensive problems and improve the overall state of mind.

“That’s all we can do right now,” Bagley stated. “We have a lot of areas to concentrate on because we’re playing two outstanding basketball teams this weekend.”

The Cougars are scheduled to play defending Western Buckeye League champion Ottawa-Glandorf (10-0, 2-0 WBL) on the road on Friday, before returning home to play Marion Local (5-3) on Saturday.

“They put a tremendous amount of pressure on you defensively, they rebound the ball well, they pass the ball well, they have a great point guard, they have two bigs,” Bagley said of the fourth-ranked Titans. “They have the total package.”

“(As far as) Marion Local, success in the football playoffs has made them a little inconsistent, but they’ve had some dominating performances,” Bagley added. “Their inside play is unbelievable with (6-4 forward) Tyler Mesher (20 points per game) and (6-6 forward) Nathan Bruns is one of the finest all around players in our area.”

Both games are scheduled to air live on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.

Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons

After a 6-1 start, the Lincolnview (6-4, 2-0 NWC) has lost three straight to teams (Kalida, Ottoville and Fort Recovery) with a combined record of 25-7.

Brett Hammons

In those losses, the Lancers found themselves down early but fought back each time.

“I feel that we have learned that we can’t put ourselves in a hole to start the game,”  head coach Brett Hammons said. “We got down by double figures to start all three games and it was a battle to get back in. The guys fought to get back in which is a credit to them, but we have to start games better.”

“We also learned we need to play better team defense in order to beat good teams,” Hammons added. “We have to help each other out on every possession and understand how to guard the opposing team.”

Through 10 games, Caden Ringwald leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game, followed by Chayten Overholt (16.5) and Zane Miller. Miller leads the team in rebounding (4.2), followed by Overholt (4.1).

Lincolnview is scheduled to play two games this weekend – against Bluffton (4-4, 0-2 NWC) on Friday and at Miller City (5-6) on Saturday.

“Both teams are athletic and well coached,” Hammons explained. “They like to mix their defenses up to make things difficult on offenses. We will have to recognize these things during the game. Both teams also have guys that attack the basket. This has given us problems in previous games.”

“If we want to give ourselves a chance to win we have to stay in front of the basketball for four quarters.”

Crestview head coach Jeremy Best

The Knights improved to 7-3 overall with a 63-47 victory over Miller City on Monday. Derek Stout scored 23 points, including 11 in the first quarter, while Javin Etzler finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Jeremy Best

Crestview has won three straight and four of five, with the only loss coming to Ottoville (52-48) on December 27.

“If you go back a couple of weeks to the fourth quarter of the Ottoville game, I think we had a little bit of a fundamental shift in our mindset that we’ve carried forward,” Best said after Monday’s win over Miller City. “I think we took a good hard look at ourselves in the mirror and assessed who we are, what we are, what we stand for, what our program is and what this team wants to be.”

Defense has been the calling card for Crestview this season, as the Knights give up just 43.5 points per game. While pleased with the victory against a team that came in averaging 62 points per game, Best said the Knights now need to work on finishing games.

“We didn’t close the game out very well and that’s an area we want to continue to get better at,” Best explained. “We want to keep playing, but we just need to make more sound decisions.”

Best also believes buying into the program and hard work in practice translate into success on the court.

“Come to practice, work hard, be coachable and good things usually happen for you on game night, and that’s an area our guys have done a much better job,” Best stated.

Crestview has is scheduled to host Arlington on Saturday.

POSTED: 01/10/18 at 7:08 am. FILED UNDER: Sports