Cougar boys rally to defeat Coldwater

Van Wert independent sports

COLDWATER — The Van Wert Cougars, after losing a close one on Friday, used a balanced offensive effort to secure a 69-65 win Saturday over Coldwater in a non-conference contest at Coldwater.

The Cougars led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter and were up by five points, 36-31, at the half. Coldwater erased that lead in the third quarter, going on a 24-16 run to take a three-point lead heading into the final stanza.

But Van Wert didn’t give up, outscoring the Cavaliers 17-9 in the fourth period to get the five-point win.

Jacoby Kelly again led the Cougars with 22 points, while three other Van Wert players were in double figures in the game. Nate Place scored 18 points, while Drew Bagley added 12 points, and Blakely had 10 points for the Cougars.

Coldwater also had four players in double figures, led by Cole Frilling’s 15 points. Dylan Thobe added 14 points, while Neal Muhlenkamp had 13 points, and Derek Albers scored 12 points for the Cavs.

Van Wert shot well in all facets of the contest, going 25 of 44 from the field (56.8 percent), including 8 of 17 from three-point range (47.1 percent). The Cougars were 14 of 19 at the free-throw line (73.7. percent).

Coldwater was 22 of 49 from the field (44.9 percent), including 11 of 26 from three-point range (42.3 percent). The Cavaliers were 9 of 13 at the line (69.2 percent).

The taller Coldwater team dominated the boards, bringing down 27 rebounds to 14 for the Cougars, while Van Wert had fewer turnovers, 5-12, than the Cavs.

The Cougar varsity is now 8-8 on the year, while Coldwater is 5-8.

The Van Wert junior varsity team ran into a buzz saw, getting crushed 67-48 by the Cavaliers’ JV team. The Cougars’ Tanner Barnhart led all scorers with 17 points, while Clayton Proffitt added 10 points for Van Wert. The Coldwater JVs had four players in double figures, led by Sean Miller’s 13 points. Andy Schoen had 12 points, while Trey Wolters and James Wenning both scored 10 points for the Cavs.

The Cougars will next play on Friday in a Western Buckeye League contest against Lima Bath in The Den, and then face Fort Wayne Carroll at home on Saturday.

Both game will be broadcast on WERT 1220 AM and 104.3 FM, and will stream live on The Van Wert independent (www.thevwindependent.com).

Box score

Van Wert  18 18 16 17—69

Coldwater 17 14 24  9—64

Van Wert (69) — Jacoby Kelly 22, Nate Place 18, Nick Gutierrez 6, Blake Henry 10, Drew Bagley 12. Totals: 25 14-19 69.

Coldwater (64) — Sam Broering 3, Dylan Thobe 14, Neal Muhlenkamp 13, Jacob Wenning 3, Derek Albers 12, Marcus Bruns 4, Cole Frilling 15. Totals: 22 9-13 64.

JV: Coldwater won 67-48.