FW Carroll rallies to edge Cougar boys

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Van Wert Cougar boys’ basketball team had a taller Fort Wayne Carroll team on the ropes for a quarter, but the Chargers made a comeback to earn a 59-54 non-conference victory on Saturday.

The Cougars got out quickly and led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, but Carroll knocked a basket off that lead in the second quarter to trail by five points, 29-24, at the half. The Chargers again chipped away at the Van Wert lead in the third quarter and were down by only a basket, 43-41, heading into the final period of play.

Carroll went on to outscore the Cougars 18-11 in the fourth quarter to garner the victory.

Van Wert was led by a 21-point performance from Matt Bidlack, while Connor Holliday added 10 points for the Cougars. Carroll’s Chandler White led all scorers with 24 points, while Jeremy Kalonji had 17 points for the Chargers.

Both teams shot well on the night. Van Wert was 16 of 34 from the field (47.1 percent), including a 6 of 14 performance from three-point range (42.9 percent). The Chargers hit 17 of 32 shots from the field (53.1 percent), and were 2 of 8 (25 percent) from three-point range.

The Cougars hit 16 of 22 free throw shots (72.7 percent), while Carroll was 20 of 34 (58.8 percent) from the line.

Van Wert played tough on the boards with the taller Cougars, with both teams bringing down 19 rebounds. The Cougars had 15 turnovers to 10 for Fort Wayne Carroll.

The Charger JVs also defeated the cold-shooting Van Wert junior varsity team by a score of 46-29. Jacob Redding and Alex Smotherman led Carroll’s JVs with 11 points apiece, while Blake Jackson added 10 for the Chargers.

Ryan McCracken had 8 points for the Cougars JV team.

Van Wert will have a busy weekend, with a Western Buckeye League game against Kenton on Friday and a non-conference battle with Marion Local on Saturday.