Van Wert chills Elida

ELIDA - It was obvious from the onset that points were going to come at a premium in the Western Buckeye League boys basketball opener for Van Wert and Elida.

The score at halftime was a paltry 14-9 before Van Wert junior Jacob Bagley scored 18 second-half points to lead the way to a 45-41 Cougars victory.

The visiting Cougars (3-2, 1-0 WBL) grabbed a 6-0 first quarter lead when the Bulldogs missed their first seven shots from the field and didn't score until there were only two minutes, 55 seconds left in the period when Michael Knotts hit a jumper in the lane.

Jake Olson, the 6-foot-8 junior center for Van Wert, had two early blocks and the Bulldogs just couldn't buy a basket. Elida (3-2, 0-1 WBL) shot 4-of-23 from the field in the first half for 17 percent and the Cougars went into the half leading by that 14-9 score. The two top scoring threats for the Bulldogs, Bo Mathias and Reggie McAdams, were a combined 0-of-10 from the field in the half.

"I thought we were very good defensively tonight." Cougars head coach Dave Froelich said. "Jake Olson makes them do things they don't want to do."

Van Wert, which didn't attempt a three-point shot in the first half, saw Bagley suddenly connect on three of them in the third quarter as both teams managed more points in the third quarter than they scored in the first half.

The teams both scored 17 points in the period and Van Wert held a 31-26 going into the fourth quarter.

Elida got to within 32-30 before Bagley connected on another trey and the Bulldogs battled back to within 43-41 with only thirty seconds left when Bagley stepped up and hit both ends of a one-and-one to secure the Cougars victory.

"They made some runs in the second half but our kids found the open man and Jake (Bagley) made the shots." Froelich said. "The kids overcame the distractions of the game being postponed (from Friday) and the power outages in Van Wert. We will take a WBL win on the road and be happy."

Elida got 12 points from Mathias but he was the only Bulldog to get into double figures.

"We have shot 25 percent from the field twice this year and lost both ball games." Elida coach Denny Thompson said. "Rebounding hurt us and in the end it's a tough WBL loss at home."

The Cougars out rebounded the Bulldogs by a final margin of 39-26 and Elida was unable to take advantage of a 15-7 edge in turnovers.

Van Wert finished the game shooting 18-of-42 from the field for 43 percent, including a nifty 4-of-7 on three-pointers.

Van Wert was led by a game-high 20 points from Bagley, the only Cougar to score in double figures.

Elida struggled to a 15-of-56 night for 27 percent that included a 5-for-23 effort on three-pointers.