Cougars get win over Delphos St. John’s

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Van Wert Cougars got back on the winning trail with a 53-48 road trip victory over Delphos St. John’s on Tuesday.

Connor Holliday led Van Wert with 20 points, while Matt Bidlack added 15 for the Cougars, which are now 9-10 on the year. St. John’s had three players in double figures, led by Andy Grothouse’s 13 points. Ryan Koester scored 11 points for the Blue Jays, while Tyler Conley added 10 points for St. John’s.

The game was back and forth for three quarters, with Van Wert taking a nine-point lead, 16-7, in the first quarter, only to see the Blue Jays rally with a 17-8 second quarter to tie the game at 24-all at the half.

The Cougars matched St. John’s 17-8 second quarter exactly in the third period to take another nine-point lead, 41-32, at the three-quarter mark, and then hit enough shots down the stretch to get the victory.

Van Wert was 18 of 39 from the field (46.1 percent), including 5 of 17 from three-point range. Delphos made 17 of 40 field goal attempts (42.5 percent), but was only 2 of 13 from behind the three-point line (15.4 percent). Both teams shot decently from the free throw line, with the Cougars making 12 of 16 (75 percent), while St. John’s was 12 of 17 (70.6 percent) from the line.

Van Wert had the edge in rebounding, 19-17, while the Blue Jays had one fewer turnover, 9-8, than the Cougars.

Van Wert’s junior varsity team also won, 60-40, over the Blue Jay JVs. Nearly the whole Cougar team was in double figures, led by Josh Braun and Gavin Gardner, who both had 12 points, while Colin Smith and Ryan McCracken added 10 points, Brant Henry had 9 and Gavin Cross had 8 points. Kim Kreeger had 11 points for Delphos, while Jaret Jackson added 9 points and Austin Heiing added 8 points for St. John’s.

Van Wert will next host Wapakoneta on Friday and then travel to Delphos to play the Jefferson Wildcats on Saturday.