Season wrap-up: Van Wert Cougars

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

It was a season of ups and downs for Van Wert.

The Cougars (13-11) opened the 2017-2018 boys’ basketball season with wins over county rivals Lincolnview and Crestview, two teams that combined for 34 wins during the regular season. That was followed by a tough stretch of seven losses in eight games to challenging opponents such as Wapakoneta, Delphos St. John’s, Wayne Trace, Fort Carroll, Marion Local and Ottawa-Glandorf.

Van Wert bounced back with seven consecutive victories, then lost three straight before closing the regular season with a win over Defiance. The Cougars posted Division II sectional tournament wins over Maumee and Bath, before falling to top-ranked Wauseon in the district semifinals at Ohio Northern University.

“Our team was very resilient this year and kept battling no matter the circumstance,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said. “We were 3-7 at one point in the season and were able to find a way to win 13 games and a sectional championship. “Our kids believed in what we were doing and even in our final loss against No. 1 Wauseon, our kids battled like crazy and never blinked.”

Jacoby Kelly finished the season as the team leader in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game. Drew Bagley averaged 12 points and six rebounds per game and after a slow start due to illness, Nate Place averaged 11 points and four rebounds per contest. Blake Henry averaged seven points and four rebounds per game, and after being a starter midway through the season, freshman Owen Treece averaged five points per game.

The Cougars will lose three players to graduation, along with a key member of the basketball program.

“Jacoby Kelly started for four years, scored over 1,000 points, and was our leader,” Bagley explained. “Jonathan Lee was a servant leader and team first guy who guarded the other teams best player. Thane Cowan came back to our program and accepted his role and embraced the process of being a good teammate.”

“Finally, (Director of Basketball Operations) Brock Blythe was in our program for seven years and knows better than anyone what it takes to be a winner in basketball and life,” Bagley added. “These guys all helped turn our program around and will be missed.”

While those seniors will move on, Bagley noted an experienced nucleus is returning for the 2018-2019 season.

“Van Wert basketball will have high expectations next year with four returning starters (Place, Bagley, Treece and Henry),” Bagley stated. “We will take some time to reflect and go back to work this spring, summer, and fall. Our guys are committed to trusting the process, getting better each day, and embracing the journey to improve in basketball and more importantly, be great young men in our community of Van Wert.”