Cougars down Paulding; Knights beat FJ

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Paulding Panthers showed they could play with the Van Wert Cougars – at least for three quarters – but a bad third quarter spelled the difference as the Cougars won the non-conference boys’ ballgame 69-56.

Jake Myers led Van Wert with 22 points, while AJ Smith scored 14 points and Joe Moonshower added 10 points for the Cougars. Paulding was led by Anthony Arellano’s 14 points, while Neil Roehrig scored 12 points and Jason Koenn added 9 points for the Panthers.

Both teams shot well from the field, with Van Wert hitting 22 of 38 two-point attempts (57.9 percent) and 5 of 12 from behind the arc (41.7 percent). The Cougars were 7 of 10 from the free throw line (70 percent). Paulding was 17 of 33 from two-point range (51.5 percent, while hitting 80 percent (4 of 5) of their three-point attempts. The Panthers were 10 of 17 at the line (58.8 percent).

The taller Paulding team dominated the boards, pulling down 28 rebounds to just 15 for the Cougars, while Van Wert had just eight miscues to 20 turnovers for the Panthers.

With the win, the Cougars are 4-1 overall, while Paulding is now 2-3 on the year.

The Van Wert junior varsity squad remained undefeated with a 56-42 win over the Panthers JVs. Scoring in double figures for the Cougars were Matt Bidlack (11 points) and Joey Moreland and Kyle Keber (10 points apiece).

The Van Wert JVs are now 5-0 overall, while the Panthers are 4-2.

Elsewhere, Crestview defeated Fort Jennings 60-45 in a non-conference game in Convoy. The Knights had three players in double figures, led by Nick Adam’s 19 points. Damian Helm added 12 points, while Dallis Gibson scored 10 points for the Knights. The Musketeers were led by Cody Warnecke, who scored 19 points, while Jeremy Kohli added 11 points for Fort Jennings.