Van Wert falls to No. 1 Wauseon at ONU

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

ADA — A size differential was a key factor in Wednesday night’s Division II district semifinal at Ohio Northern University.

Wauseon fielded a starting lineup of 6-0, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-9, and the top-ranked Indians used that size to post a 51-41 victory over Van Wert.

Wauseon improved to (24-0) and will play Shawnee in (18-7) in the district title game on Saturday, while Van Wert’s season came to an end at 13-11.

“They are really good,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said. “They’re 24-0 for a reason.”

The two teams were nearly even for the first part of the opening quarter. Nate Place scored Van Wert’s first five points and the Cougars led 5-4, then 8-6. But the Indians held Van Wert scoreless for the final 2:45 of the period and led 14-10 after one.

The Indians enjoyed a 12-6 scoring advantage in the second quarter. 6-9 senior Austin Rotroff opened the period with two baskets, while Levi Seiler hit a bucket and a trey. Van Wert’s only baskets came at the 3:53 and 3:00 mark, when Jacoby Kelly hit consecutive triples and by halftime, Wauseon led 26-16.

“As the first half wore on, we took some ‘hero’ shots, not out of selfishness, but because we were trying to make plays,” Bagley said. “Our kids prepared extremely hard, and they believed. They never stopped believing.”

The Cougars fought back and trimmed the deficit to 32-25 midway through the third quarter. Drew Bagley hit three foul shots, Kelly connected from the floor and Place converted two free throws, forcing a Wauseon timeout with 4:18 left in the period.

“Coming into the game, coach Bags said we have no pressure, they have the pressure because they’re undefeated,” Kelly said. “When they called that timeout, it was a momentum transition. They had to adjust, but unfortunately we didn’t adjust back.”

After the timeout, the Indians went on a 7-1 scoring run to end the quarter, with 6-4 junior Levi Seiler providing four of those points.

Trailing 39-26 to open the final quarter, Van Wert continued to fight, but could draw no closer than eight late in the period. Place was 6-of-6 from the foul line and Bagley scored four of his six points in the quarter.

Kelly led Van Wert with 15 points, while Place had 14, and Bagley and Blake Henry each finished with five.

Seiler finished with a game high 16 points, while Trent Armstrong and Rotroff each had 10. Rotroff also had 17 rebounds.

“We expected to win, we really did,” Bagley said. “They (Wauseon) are really good, they’re really well coached and they play the right way. They’ll be a tough out in this tournament.”

Scoring summary:

Wauseon 14 12 13 12 – 51
Van Wert 10  6  10 15 – 41

Wauseon: Levi Seiler 6-3-16; Trent Armstrong 3-4-10; Owen Newlove 2-4-8; Brooks Gype 2-2-7; Austin Rotroff 5-0-10

Van Wert: Nate Place 3-7-14; Owen Treece 1-0-2; Jacoby Kelly 5-1-15; Blake Henry 1-3-5; Drew Bagley 1-3-5