Van Wert scores rare -- but vital -- victory at O-G

VAN WERT 61O-GLANDORF 51OTTAWA – Van Wert wins at Ottawa-Glandorf's Supreme Court have been few and far between.But Friday's 61-51 win over the Titans had more than historical footnote significance.Xavier Kelly scored 18 points, Keaten Welch had 16 and Van Wert cashed in big at the foul line in winning at O-G for the first time in 35 years. More importantly for the Cougars, it kept them unbeaten in Western Buckeye League play and sets up a showdown with Lima Shawnee next Friday for sole possession of the WBL lead.Van Wert upped its overall record to 15-3. Shawnee is 13-5 after Friday's 61-34 win over St. Marys Memorial. Both teams are 7-0 in the WBL.Van Wert nursed a 10-to-12 point lead through much of the second half of Friday's game. Sophomore guard Jordan Schumaker gave O-G a needed spark, getting the Titan's within six (48-42) when he converted back-to-back and-one 3-point plays and scoring on another drive to the basket.Van Wert's Keaten Welch answered with two free throws, though, and the Cougars kept their cushion with a steady parade to the line. Welch would connect on 6-of-6 chances in the fourth quarter and 9-of-10 for the game. Overall, Van Wert converted 15-of-18 free throws in the game's final four minutes.Cohen Bragg added 14 points and Welch had 10 for Van Wert. Brody Fortman had a game-high 22 points for Ottawa-Glandorf (10-5, 4-3 WBL), with Schmaker adding 10 points and Nolan Duling nine.VAN WERT (15-3)Kelly 5-6—18, McCracken 3-2—10, Ke. Welch 3-9—16, Crummey 1-1—3, Bragg 6-1—14. TOTALS: 18-19—61.O-GLANDORF (10-5)Fortman 9-2—22, Maag 2-2—6, Duling 4-0—9, Yaeger 0-1—1, Schumaker 4-2—10, Ellerbrock 1-0—3. TOTALS: 20-7—51.Van Wert 16 10 16 19—61O-Glandorf 11 13 8 19—513-POINT GOALS: Van Wert 6 (Kelly, McCracken, Welch, Bragg); Ottawa-Glandorf 4 (Fortman 2, Duling, Ellerbrock) COL. GROVE 56BLUFFTON 48COLUMBUS GROVE – Columbus Grove's Brady Basinger, Trevon Baxter and Landon Best capped double-digit games with some clutch shooting from the foul line to cap off the Bulldogs' 56-48 Northwest Conference win over Bluffton.Baxter led Grove (12-5, 3-2 NWC) with 17 points, Basinger scored 16 and Best had 10. Baxter was 4-of-5 from the line and scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. Basinger and Best both converted three of their four free throw chances in the final period.Bluffton's Brody Donley led all scorers with 20 points. Lane Ginther added 12 points and Bean Ginther had 10 for the Pirates (7-11, 0-6 NWC).BLUFTON (7-11)B. Ginther 4-2—10, L. Ginther 3-5—12, Taylor 1-0—3, Scoles 1-0—3, Donley 7-3—20. TOTALS: 16-10—48COL. GROVE (12-5)G. Baxter 3-0—6, Basinger 6-4—16, T. Baxter 6-4—17, Best 4-3—12, Sautter 2-0—5. TOTALS: 21-11—56.Bluffton 6 12 12 18—48Col. Grove 17 5 15 19—563-POINT GOALS: Bluffton 6 (Donley 3, L. Ginther, Taylor, Scoles); Columbus Grove3 (T. Baxter, Best, Sautter). LIMA PERRY 91CORY-RAWSON 59RAWSON — Cory-Rawson's Carson Reese went off for 37 points on Friday in the Hornets 91-59 loss to Lima Perry in a Northwest Central Conference contest.A 6-foot-1 senior, Reese's career high included six 3-pointers and a 10-of-13 accuracy from the foul line.Connor Reese added seven points and Logan Inbody had five for the Hornets (3-14, 3-5 NWCC). RIDGEMONT 42H. NORTHERN 35DOLA – Ridgemont caught and tied Hardin Northern in the Northwest Central Conference boys basketball standings with Friday's 42-35 victory over the Polar Bears.Riley Newton scored nine points and Luke Price had seven for Hardin Northern, 6-13 overall. The outcome left both teams with 4-3 records in league play. RIDGEDALE 50N. BALTIMORE 45NORTH BALTIMORE – Ridgedale remained in the thick of the race in the Northwest Central Conference with Friday's 50-45 win over North Baltimore.The Rockets, 11-7 overall, improved to 5-1 in NWCC games. North Baltimore dripped to 4-15, 1-7 in the league. H-LOUDON 75 ST. JOE 20 FREMONT—Hopewell-Loudon held a 17-8 lead over Fremont St. Joe at the end of one quarter. It was a good start for the Chieftains. It also was just the beginning of what would become H-L's most lopsided victory of the season. The Chieftains outscored the Streaks 18-2 in the second quarter, 26-5 in the third, and rolled to a 75-20 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division win. Ashton Miller scored a team-high 21 for H-L, while Collin Smith added 16 points to go with six rebounds. Dexter Stacy added 11 points for Hopewell-Loudon, which shot 25 of 42 from the floor Friday in improving to 9-8, 6-5 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division. St. Joe, winless on the season, was paced by Zachary Ohms and Liam Thiessen, who each registered five points. HOPEWELL-LOUDON (9-8, 6-5 SBC River) Miller 7-8—21; Gullatt 1-0—3; Brickman 3-0—7; Stacy 5-1—11; Rogier 2-0—5; Smith 8-2—16; Frankart 3-2—8. TOTALS: 28-42—14-25—75. ST. JOE (0-15, 0-12 SBC River) Ohms 2-1—5; Thiessen 2-0—5; Jenkins 1-0—3; Rash 0-4—4; Vassar 1-1—3. TOTALS: 6-25—6-11—20. Hopewell-Loudon 17 18 26 14 – 75 St. Joe 8 2 5 5 – 20 3-POINT GOALS: Hopewell-Loudon 5-9 (Smith 2, Miller, Gullatt, Brickman); St. Joe 2-11 (Theissen, Jenkins) REBOUNDS: Hopewell-Loudon 24 (Smith 6); St. Joe 12. TURNOVERS: Hopewell-Loudon 8; St. Joe 27. JV: Hopewell-Loudon 51-31. CAREY 72 WYNFORD 68 BUCYRUS – Carey's offense got rolling early, piling up 42 first half points and then heading into the fourth quarter with a 58-47 lead at Wynford. But the Royals made things interesting. Behind Drew Stanek's 27 points, Wynford rallied late. It outscored the Blue Devils 21-14 over the final eight minutes of regulation, but Carey held on for a 72-68 N10 win. Carey, after starting the season 2-5, has won six in a row and seven of eight, improving to 10-6 overall and to 9-1 in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference. Chase Stone led the Blue Devils Friday with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Dalton Roberts scored 15 points and had four steals. Kyler Boes added 10 points and six boards. For Wynford, Braylon Wells just missed a double-double, with 15 points and nine rebounds. Reed Johnson put up 10 points and six assists, while Jaron Vance scored 11 for the Royals. CAREY (10-6, 9-1 N10) Boes 5-0—10; Kinn 2-3—7; Mullholand 0-3—3; Bame 3-1—7; Stone 8-4—20; Phoenix 1-2—4; Roberts 7-1—15. TOTALS: 28-63—14-21—72. WYNFORD (4-14, 3-9 N10) Wells 6-1—15; Vance 4-0—11; Johnson 4-2—10; Stuckman 0-2—2; Stanek 9-5—27; Rogers 1-0—3. TOTALS: 24-59—10-18—68. Carey 22 20 16 14 – 72 Wynford 14 17 16 21 -- 68 3-POINT GOALS: Carey 2-10 (Bame 2); Wynford 10-22 (Stanek 4, Vance 3, Wells 2, Rogers) REBOUNDS: Carey 32 (Stone 12, Boes 6); Wynford (Wells 9) TURNOVERS: Carey 9; Wynford 12 JV: Carey, 58-20 SEN. EAST 49 U. SANDUSKY 37 UPPER SANDUSKY – Upper Sandusky led at halftime, and stayed close with Seneca East for three quarters. But a cold offensive fourth quarter doomed the Rams, They managed just one field goal (a basket by Matt Schoenberger) and two Josh Heilman free throws. Meanwhile, Seneca East's Luke Mason hit three of his five 3-pointers in the fourth, finished with a game-high 21 points, and led the Tigers to a 49-37 win. Ayden Perkins scored 12 points for the Tigers, who improved to 14-4, 9-3 in the N10. Heilman and Schoenberger each scored 13 points to lead Upper Sandusky, which fell to 7-12, 6-6 in the conference. SENECA EAST (14-4, 9-3 N10) Boes 1-0—3; Perkins 5-1—12; Mason 7-2—21; Bloom 1-0—3; Price 2-0—4; Depinet 2-1—5; Hicks 0-1—1. TOTALS: 18—5-10—49. UPPER SANDUSKY (7-12, 6-6 N10) Romich 0-2—2; Clark 1-0—2; Ethan Smith 1-1—3; Heilman 5-3—13; M. Schoenberger 5-1—13; L. Schoenberger 2-0—4. TOTALS: 14—7-11—37. Seneca East 7 12 17 13 – 49 Upper Sandusky 10 11 12 4 – 37 3-POINT GOALS: Seneca East 8 (Mason 5, Boes, Bloom); Upper Sandusky (M. Schoenberger 2) JV: Upper Sandusky 66-46.