Van Buren races past Vanlue, claims share of BVC

VANLUE-Van Buren was lights out on defense, and won for the 17th straight time. Playing at Vanlue, the Black Knights knew that as long as they played strong defensively, they could reach where they wanted to go. Van Buren cut down the Wildcats 75-13 Friday, securing a share of their first Blanchard Valley Conference Championship, the program's first since the 2018-19 season. "I thought we played defensively, which is our motto," Black Knights coach Mark Bunn said. "We shot the ball well too, and when you put those two things together, you are going to have a great performance." Van Buren (17-1, 8-0) forced the Wildcats (0-18, 0-7) to turn the ball over 13 times, started the second half with a running clock, and made it into a one-sided contest. "Our suffocating defense lets the offense take care of itself," Bunn said. "We got some offensive rebounds tonight, and the more offensive rebounds we get, the more shots we get." That couldn't be truer for the first quarter, as the Black Knights raced out to a 12-point lead before Trey Miller got the Wildcats on the board for two points. "They are just a superior team to us," Vanlue coach John Kloepfer said. "They are well-coached, and they do everything well defensively, that's why they are the best in the BVC. Offensively, we couldn't get our offense going, and that's probably why we are in the bottom of the conference." On Vanlue's next possession, Owen Roszman put in a basket. "We have nine bodies and not a lot of experience," Kloepfer said. "We struggle shooting the ball and we have Owen, who is our main guy and he has to do everything. We just don't have five guys that can score for us." Will Rampe then answered back with back-to-back baskets before Roszman put the last two points on the board for Vanlue. After that, the Black Knights ran off. The time clock had 1:03 remaining, and Cole Bishop stole the ball from the Wildcats, bounced passed the ball to Grady Miller for the basket. Then, on a Rozman rebound, Miller stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a basket. The Wildcats faced a 22 point deficit by the end of the quarter. Van Buren scored 25 points in the second quarter compared to Vanlue's the three, which came from Brady Hamilton. Van Buren was up 53-9 at the half, which caused the third quarter to begin with a running clock. "Defensively, we aren't very big," Kloepfer said. "VB is so much stronger and more physical than us. We couldn't go man and zone and they have shooters. Pick your poison and they are just a very good team." In the third quarter, Vanlue scored two, one free throw from Roszman, and one from Hamilton. Vanlue didn't score any points in the fourth quarter; while VB scored eight. Two Black Knights scored in double digits. Homan had 16 while Bishop had 14. Roszman had six points, and is 21 points away from hitting 1,000. Friday's win marked Van Buren's most points scored in a game this season On Saturday, VB will be playing Columbus Grove (12-5), before playing its final conference game against Elmwood next Friday. Since Arlington defeated Elmwood Friday, the Black Knights will need to beat the Royals next week to win the outright league crown. "They are super athletic," Bunn said of the Royals. "You play them late in the season and you are going to play against their best. .. Elmwood has got a lot of defensive schemes that they like to throw at us, so we have to be ready to go. It's basketball and you have to be ready to go every single night." BOX SCOREVAN BUREN (17-1, 8-0 BVC) Anikan Ortega 1-0-3, Carson Stone 2-0-6, Cole Bishop 5-0-14, Alex Homan 6-2-16, Grady Miller 4-0-8, Brady Lance 2-0-5, Finn Martin 4-0-8, Will Rampe 3-1-7,Trace Kisseberth 2-0-4, Braxton Scherf 2-0-4 TOTALS: 31-4-75 VANLUE (0-18, 0-7) Trey Miller 1-0-2, Owen Rosman 2-2-6, Brady Hamilton 2-0-5 TOTALS: 5-2-13 Van Buren 28 25 14 8 –75 Vanlue 6 3 4 0 –13 3-POINT GOALS: Van Buren 9 (Bishop 4, Homan 2, Ortega, Stone, Lance); Vanlue 1 (Hamilton)REBOUNDS: Van Buren 23; Vanlue 23TURNOVERS: Van Buren 5; Vanlue 13