Treece, Place lead VW past Raiders

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

HAVILAND — Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley challenged his players shortly before the tipoff of Saturday’s game at Wayne Trace, and the Cougars responded with a convincing 67-55 victory over the Raiders.

“The major challenge I said was I trust you guys and I believe in you guys to play the way we’ve practiced – that’s to play fast, defend, rebound and run and I thought our kids did started the game to a ‘T’ with that challenge,” Bagley explained.

The Cougars (2-3) opened the game with an 11-0 run, including nine consecutive points and a slam dunk by Nate Place. The Raiders (5-2) didn’t get on the board until Reid Miller scored with 3:25 left in the period and when the quarter ended, Van Wert held a 19-9 lead, with Place accounting for 12 of those points.

“It’s set the tone, and the 11-0 start was obviously huge,” Bagley said.

“Van Wert is a very physical and athletic team,” Wayne Trace head coach Jim Linder said. “They shot it very well and had everything working right for them. Place is very tough kid to guard and they presented tough match ups for us.”

Place went on to finish with 17 points.

Owen Treece took over in the second quarter, scoring Van Wert’s first eight points of the period to increase the lead to 27-12. Treece scored 15 of his game high 25 points in the period, including a buzzer beating triple just inside the half court line to give the Cougars a 37-23 halftime advantage.

“Owen Treece was unbelievable for us in the summer and that’s what he reminded me of tonight,” Bagley said. “Owen’s defense was good, he was confident and obviously it helps when you make a half court shot. I thought he was a real key for us tonight.”

Along with 25 points, Treece finished with seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end.

“Treece shot it very well which we rolled the dice on making them beat us from the outside rather than inside with their size and strength,” Linder said. “We did not have our best offensive night tonight but that is due to their defense They took us out of many things tonight.”

Van Wert maintained a double digit lead for much of the third quarter, but the Raiders scored the final seven points of the quarter on two buckets by Alex Reinhart and a trey by Jace Vining to close the gap to 50-43 at the end of the period.

Miller, who finished with 24 points, made it 50-45 with a quick basket to start the fourth quarter, but the Cougars scored the next 10 points. It started with back to back triples by Treece and Blake Henry, then conventional two point buckets by the same two. Henry scored six of his 12 points in the period.

“I think they (Wayne Trace) got tired and our depth wore them out,” Bagley said. “Everybody contributed off the bench for us.”

Drew Bagley closed out Van Wert’s scoring with four free throws.

Wayne Trace will host Woodlan (IN) on Friday, while the Cougars will travel to Ottoville the same night then will play at Columbus Grove on Saturday.

Scoring summary

Wayne Trace 9 14 20  12 – 55
Van Wert     19 18 13 17 – 67

Wayne Trace: Reid Miller 6-10-24; Nate Gerber 2-2-6; Trae Sinn 3-5-11; Josiah Linder 2-0-4; Jace Vining 1-0-1; Evan Mohr 0-1-1; Alex Reinhart 3-0-6

Van Wert: Owen Treece 11-0-25; Nate Place 7-1-17; Blake Henry 5-0-12; Drew Bagley 2-3-7; Clayton Proffitt 1-0-3; Tanner Barnhart 0-1-1; Lawson Blackmore 1-0-2

JV: Van Wert 42-38