Cougars lose season finale to St. Marys

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

ST. MARYS — The Van Wert Cougars are probably glad to see the end of the 2014-15 regular season. The Van Wert boys struggled again offensively in a 58-35 loss to St. Marys Memorial in a Western Buckeye League contest played at St. Marys.

The game was pretty even in the first quarter, with the Roughriders taking a one basket lead, 10-8, at the end of eight minutes of play. A 19-10 run in the second stanza put St. Marys up by 11 points, 29-18, at the half.

It was 36-27 at the end of the third quarter, but St. Marys then put the game away with a 22-8 run in the final period to take home the win.

Connor Holliday led the Cougars with 10 points, including a 7-for-8 performance at the free-throw line. The Roughriders had three players in double figures, led by Josh Young’s 13 points. Derek Jay added 12 points, while Nathan Wilker added 10 points for St. Marys.

The Roughriders dominated on the boards, bringing down 27 rebounds to 12 for Van Wert, while the Cougars also had four more turnovers, 15-11, than St. Marys.

Van Wert was 11 of 31 from the field (35.5 percent), including 5 of 14 (35.7 percent) from three-point range. The Cougars were 9 of 14 from the free throw line (64.3 percent).

St. Marys made 20 of 38 field-goal attempts (52.6 percent), including 9 of 13 from beyond the arc (69.2 percent). The Roughriders made 9 of 15 free throws (60 percent).

With the loss, Van Wert falls to 6-15 overall on the season and 2-7 in the WBL. The Roughriders are now 14-8 overall and 5-4 in league play.

The Cougar junior varsity team won, 43-31, with Davis Munroe the leading scorer with 11 points, while Dylan Lautzenheiser added 9 points for Van Wert.

Van Wert will next play Carey in Division II sectional basketball action on Wednesday.