Josh Thorbahn and Will Miller combined for 31 points in Ottoville’s 62-42 route of Van Wert on Tuesday night.
Thorbahn led all scorers with 16 points, shooting 6/13 from the field to go along with three assists and three steals. Miller’s night also stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, six steals, five assists and three rebounds.
Miller, Thorbahn, and the Big Green’s balanced offense poured it on a faltering Van Wert team early and never let up, scoring the first 12 points of the game.
Trae Schlagbaum led off with the opening bucket, then Thorbahn hit his first of three triples on the evening. Grant Kortokrax followed with a two, and after that Thorbahn struck again to make the game 9-0.
A three from Cole Furley capped off a 12-0 game-opening run, and with 2:30 to go in the first, Van Wert got its first and only points of the quarter from Garett Gunter (six points).
The Big Green scored one more time in the first on a two by Caden Edelbrock to take a commanding 14-2 lead.
Things improved for the Cougars in the second, but only by a little as they were still outscored 19-13 by Ottoville who opened the quarter with a 13-4 charge.
Miller and Thorbahn each hit two threes, and Furley capped off the run by bringing the score to 30-6 on a layup.
Van Wert followed with one of its best bursts of the night when the Cougars’ leading scorer Owen Treece was finally able to get on the board with 2:10 to go in the half. Treece scored two-straight times at the rim, then drilled two free-throws to make the game 30-12.
Treece finished the game with 13 points on 5/19 shots to go along with four rebounds and four steals.
After Treece’s mini run, a couple traded baskets ended the half at 33-15 in favor of Ottoville.
The Big Green kept their steady double-digit lead alive and well in the third, outscoring the Cougars by six to tighten their hold on the game. Miller went off for another eight points to make Ottoville’s advantage 49-25 at the end of three quarters.
Van Wert was able put up 17 points in the fourth quarter, their best scoring frame of the night thanks in large part to Ethan Rupert who hit four triples, but Ottoville’s lead wasn’t going anywhere.
Kellen Schlagbaum and Caden Edelbrock hit a few shots down the stretch to preserve The Big Green’s lead and put the finishing touches on their 62-42 win.
Ottoville’s record improves to 6-1 on the season, with their next game coming against Lincolnview on Tuesday night. After the Cougars loss, their record falls to 0-4. They will play their next game on Monday on the road against Columbus Grove.
Box score 1 2 3 4 T
Van Wert 2 13 10 17 42
Ottoville 14 19 16 13 62
Van Wert (42)
Ethan Brown 3, Owen Treece 13, Garett Gunter 6, Ty Jackson 4, Aidan Pratt 2, Nate Jackson 2, Connor Pratt 3, Ethan Rupert 9.
Ottoville (62)
Will Miller 15, Trae Schlagbaum 2, Kyle Manns 3, Grant Kortokrax 4, Kellen Schlagbaum 5, Josh Thorbahn 16, Cole Furley 5, Cooper Hanneman 2, Caden Edelbrock 4, Jack Langhals 6.
Original Article Courtesy of Times Bulletin