Cougars overcome 3Q lapse for WBL win

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

KENTON — Van Wert boys’ basketball Head Coach Dave Froelich got his 400th career win with a 65-59 Western Buckeye League victory over Kenton, but his Cougars first had to overcome a third-quarter scare from the Wildcats.

Senior Jake Myers dominated the Van Wert scoring with 28 points, while four players were close to double figures. Joey Hurless and Reggie Phillips each had 9 points on the night, while Joe Moonshower and AJ Smith scored 8 for the Cougars. Kenton had three players in double figures, led by Maty Mauk’s 18 points. Brice Fackler added 17 points while Sean Kelly had 10.

Van Wert led by a basket, 14-12, at the end of the first quarter and was up by five, 28-23, at the half. But the Wildcats got hot in the third period, hitting all three of their treys and blowing by the off-balance Cougars for some easy lay-ups in the quarter to outscore Van Wert, 23-16, and take a two-point lead, 46-44, to head into the final quarter of play.

The Cougars got back to business, though, in the final stanza, clamping off the lay-up lanes and hitting their free throws down the stretch — including a 4-for-4 performance at the line for Myers — for the six-point win.

Kenton attempted only six three-point shots in the game, a fact that likely had Froelich wiping his brow in relief, since the Wildcats hit half of them, one each by Mauk, Kelly and Matt Bahr. Kenton also shot well from the field, knocking down 22 of 39 two-point attempts (56.4 percent). Van Wert didn’t make a three-pointer, although they took 12 shots from beyond the arc, but were 25 of 47 from two-point distance (53.2 percent). The Cougars hit 15 of 21 free-throw attempts (71.4 percent), while Kenton was 6 of 14 at the line (42.8 percent).

The Wildcats edged Van Wert on the boards, bringing down 25 rebounds to 24 for the Cougars. Van Wert had just 8 turnovers, though, compared to 19 for the Wildcats.

With the victory, the Cougars are now 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the WBL. Kenton is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in league play.

The Van Wert junior varsity team remained perfect at 7-0 with a 58-38 win over the Wildcat JVs. Three Cougars were in double figures, with Kyle Keber and Matt Bidlack scoring 13 points and Connor Holliday adding 12 points for the victors.

Elsewhere around the WBL, Defiance beat Celina, 84-48; Bath was a victor over Wapakoneta, 61-47; Ottawa-Glandorf downed Shawnee, 67-37; and Elida defeated St. Marys, 69-39.

Van Wert will return to action on Tuesday against Bellmont (Ind.) High School and then play WBL rival Elida next Friday.