VAN WERT — St. John’s and Van Wert have been at it in the boys basketball wars for many a year.
Saturday night’s installment at The Cougars Den added to the rivalry.
The host Cougars (7-2) rode the brilliance of 6-7 senior center Chris Morrow and his friends to a 56-50 triumph.
Morrow led all scorers with 29 markers (4 treys; adding 7 boards and 4 blocks), while Evans Hammons tacked on 11 (5 boards).
Morrow came up big when it counted — scoring eight in the fourth period, which began with a 39-all deadlock. A 2:34 scoreless drought put the Blue Jays (3-4) behind 44-39. The Blue and Gold battled back to twice get within two, the last at 48-46 with 2:35 remaining. With the Jays forced out of their 2-3 zone, Morrow went baseline for a deuce and a 3-point lead. Junior Cameron Hermiller (14 markers) hit 1-of-2 singles at 1:25 for the Jays; twice, they failed to hit putbacks. Morrow netted all four free throws and a drive down the stretch to put the contest away.
Van Wert hit 6-of-8 singles in the final 2:55 (11-of-18 overall for 61.1%) to hold on.
“We had some good chances to pull this one out but didn’t get it done. Those are things that add up over the course of a game and end up costing you a game,” St. John’s coach Aaron Elwer began. “At 6-7, Morrow was a matchup problem; we just didn’t have anyone to stay with him, so we went zone. We had scouted them four times; two of the teams used a zone pretty successfully, so we felt that gave us the best chance. We just let him get away early and he burned us.”
That would mean the first period, where Morrow fired in three 3s out of his 11 markers, putting the visitors behind 14-4 by the 1:25 mark. Junior Eric Buettner drained a trio and senior Tim Clark a baseline jumper with 34 ticks to go to get the visitors within 14-9.
The Jays slowed Morrow down in period 2 but sophomore Evan Hammons (11 counters, 5 caroms) picked up some slack, scoring five. Meantime, senior Bob Koester (16 markers) and sophomore Scott Recker netted five each to get the Jays within 23-22 on two Koester freebies with 1:10 on the board.
“I didn’t expect St. John’s to play a 2-3 zone all game but the way we struggle to shoot outside, it’s good strategy. It’s a mental thing at this point,” Van Wert mentor Dave Froelich noted. “We’re hesitant as it is to begin with; then, when we miss a shot or two, we become even more so. An outside shooter has to be a gunslinger, like a Koester.”
The third canto tightened, featuring one lead change — with the Jays taking their only lead and stretching it to 39-33 on a Koester jumper with 45 ticks left. There were three ties as well, the last on a late 6-0 Van Wert run to knot it at 39 on a Morrow putback with 30 seconds to go.
“We had our first practice Oct. 29. We never focused on wins and losses, only on improving every day,” Elwer added. “We’ve come a long way in two months but we have a long way to go in less than two months. We have a busy January, with four double-weekends, so we have a lot of work to do and to stay in good condition.”
St. John’s counted 15-of-36 fielders (5-of-16 3s) for 41.7% and 15-of-22 at the line (68.2%). They attracted 32 boards (8 offensive) as Recker and Koester had six each and Clark five. They amassed 17 fouls and 12 errors and host Versailles Friday.
“This was a typical Van Wert/St. John’s game: tough and hard-fought,” Froelich added. “We’ve been looking for more consistent help for Chris. Jake (Bagley; 9 counters) and D.J. Dull hit some key baskets, seemingly at the most important times. This year, we just seem to find ways to win.”
Van Wert drained 19-of-47 shots (7-of-29 trifectas) for 40.4%. They nabbed 26 off the glass (9 offensive). Dull and Derek Strick delivered four assists each. They had 20 fouls and a mere three turnovers. They trek to Celina Friday night.
In reserve action, the Cougars (8-1) netted 4-of-5 singles in the final minute to squeak past St. John’s (4-3) 37-33.
Josh Bolenbaugh dropped in 18 for the home team; junior Tyler Williams countered with 13 for the guests.