Blackmore, ‘D’ lead Cougars past Kenton

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

Defense, balanced scoring and rebounding were on display during Van Wert’s 56-34 Western Buckeye League victory over visiting Kenton on Friday.

Van Wert shot 48 percent (24 of 50) from the floor while holding the Wildcats to a mere 10 percent shooting in the first half and 28 percent (12 of 43) for the game.

Leading 5-4 roughly halfway through the first quarter, the Cougars went on a 19-0 scoring run that didn’t end until the 2:36 mark of the second quarter. Nate Place scored eight of those points, including two on a slam dunk. When the dust settled, Van Wert enjoyed a 24-5 halftime lead, with Kenton’s only point of the second quarter coming on a free throw by Jaron Sharp.

“I thought our game plan was really solid on (Jayden) Cornell and Sharp,” Van Wert head coach Mark Bagley said of his team’s defensive effort. “I thought Nate did a great job of keeping Cornell in front of him and then Blake (Henry) face guarded Sharp and did a really good job.”

“Five points in a half in a WBL game is incredible against a team that’s 9-3,” Bagley added. “We did a lot of great things defensively that led to a layup-turnovers. I think Nate had three of them in the first half, so that set the tone.”

In addition, the Cougars held a decisive 29-16 rebounding advantage and had four players in double figures, led by Lawson Blackmore’s 17 points.

“We told Lawson all week long to trust the process,” Bagley said. “Lawson played an outstanding game and hit a three tonight which was fun for everybody to see that as well.”

After Blackmore, Place had 13, Owen Treece had 11 and Drew Bagley finished with 10. Sharp led Kenton with 14 points, with 10 of those coming in the third quarter.

Van Wert outscored Kenton 21-18 in the third quarter, with Treece knocking down three treys in the period and Blackmore scoring seven points. Each team scored 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars (7-7, 2-3 WBL) will close out a three game week with a trip to Coldwater tonight.

“You can’t go 3-0 if you don’t go 1-0 and 2-0, so we have a chance to do that and that’s kind of the end of our tough stretch here,” Bagley said. “We have one game next Friday so that gives our kids a chance to rest.”

Scoring summary

Van Wert 13 11 21 11 – 56
Kenton 4 1 18 11 – 34

Van Wert: Owen Treece 4-0-11; Nate Place 6-1-13; Tanner Barnhart 1-0-2; Blake Henry 1-1-3; Lawson Blackmore 8-0-17; Drew Bagley 4-0-10

Kenton: Jayden Cornell 3-0-7; Trent Lawrence 1-0-3; Jaron Sharp 5-4-14; Caden Bolling 0-2-2; Cameron Pulfer 1-0-2; Tye Sherman 1-0-3; Luke Fackler 1-1-3

JV: Van Wert 46-42