Roughriders stun the Van Wert Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It was a frustrating night for Van Wert, as the Cougars struggled from the floor throughout the game and lost to St. Marys 53-37.

Early consecutive baskets by Jacoby Kelly gave the Cougars a 4-2 lead, and after a St. Marys bucket, Nate Place hit a trey to give Van Wert a 7-4 lead with 5:30 remaining in the opening quarter. It would turn out to be the only time the Cougars led in the game.

Two foul shots by Drew Jacobs and baskets by Austin Wilker and Bo Kuenning gave St. Marys a 10-7. Van Wert broke a scoring drought of over three minutes with a free throw, and the 6-4 junior beat the buzzer with a bucket from the paint to tie the game at 10.

The Roughriders (3-7, 1-1 Western Buckeye League) opened the second quarter on a 10-0 run to push their advantage to 20-10. Meanwhile, the Cougars didn’t crack the scoreboard until the 4:50 mark, when Blake Henry hit two foul shots. Van Wert’s first basket of the period came with 3:40 left on an offensive rebound and return shot by Thane Cowan. St. Marys responded with five unanswered points, including a triple by Drew Jacobs, who went on to finish with a game high 18 points. Two foul shots by Henry pulled the Cougars to within 12, 29-17. From there, Jacobs hit another trey, but Place hit an NBA-range three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 32-20.

Struggling against various zone defenses offered by St. Marys, Van Wert shot just 7-of-21 in the first half.

“We missed some shots early,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said. “We were attacking side to side, and we worked on zone stuff all week.

“It was shocking,” Bagley added. “I want to give St. Marys credit. They were the tougher team tonight and they deserved to win, no question about that. But it was alarming – it was like we hadn’t practiced all week.”

Henry opened the third quarter with two baskets that trimmed the deficit to 32-24, but from there the Cougars were scoreless for more than four minutes. Place canned a shot at the 3:53 mark, and Cowan closed out Van Wert’s scoring with a basket with two minutes left on the clock. St. Marys didn’t fare much better, mustering just 10 points in the period.

Place began the final quarter with a basket and a triple in just 40 seconds, but the Cougars didn’t score again until three minutes later, when Place hit another bucket. The 6-2 junior finished with a team-high 13 points, including seven in the fourth period. Van Wert’s last basket of the game (by Kelly) came with 2:48 left in the contest.

The Cougars shot 8-of-25 in the second half, and 15-of-46 (32.6 percent) for the game.

“We pride ourselves on preparation, we pride ourselves on outplaying teams and it didn’t happen tonight, and it was disappointing.” Bagley said. “Our guys are very disappointed.”

Van Wert (3-4, 0-2 WBL) will return to action tonight at Fort Carroll (IN). The game will be played at the Alumni Gym instead of the Fieldhouse. Live coverage will air on WERT 1220AM/104.3FM.

Scoring summary:

Van Wert 10 10   8   9 – 37
St. Marys 10 22 10 11 – 53

Van Wert: Nate Place 5-0-13; Jacoby Kelly 4-0-8; Blake Henry 3-3-9; Drew Bagley 1-1-3; Thane Cowan 2-0-4

St. Marys: Braeden Dunlap 3-0-6; Austin Wilker 7-3-17; Ethan Mielke 1-4-7; Drew Jacobs 6-5-18; Colin Clements 1-0-2; Bo Kuenning 1-0-2

JV: Van Wert won 51-32