Cougs beat Kenton to open WBL season

DAVE MOSIER/independent sports

The Van Wert Cougars played well at both ends of the court to earn a 72-57 win over Kenton in both teams’ Western Buckeye League opener on Friday.

With the win, the Cougars are now 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the WBL, while Kenton drops to 7-3 overall and 0-1 in league play.

Both teams were about even in the first quarter, with Van Wert edging the Wildcats 16-15 at the end of the quarter. The Cougars dialed things up a notch in the next two quarters, though, outscoring Kenton 42-23 in the second and third stanzas to lead by 20 points, 58-38, at the end of the third quarter. The Wildcats outscored Van Wert’s reserves in the final period, 19-14, but couldn’t overcome the Cougars’ big lead.

AJ Smith led Van Wert with 28 points, including three treys and a 3-for-4 performance at the free throw line, while Joey Hurless and Kyle Keber each had 10 points for the Cougars. Kenton was led by Grant Sherman’s 18 points, while Colyn Blackford added 10 points and Noah Furbush scored 9 points for the Wildcats.

Van Wert was 5 of 12 from three-point range in the game (41.7 percent) and hit 23 of 45 two-point attempts (51.1 percent). The Cougars were 7 of 9 from the free-throw line (77.8 percent). Kenton hit 20 of 36 two-point attempts (55.6 percent) and was 4 of 9 from three-point range (44.4 percent). The Wildcats knocked down 5 of 10 from the line (50 percent).

Kenton hit the boards hard, bringing down 22 rebounds to 14 for the Cougars, but Van Wert had only 9 turnovers (4 of those in the first quarter), while the Wildcats turned the ball over 16 times in the game.

The Cougar junior varsity team continued its win streak with a 54-22 victory of the Kenton JVs. Justice Tussing led Van Wert with 11 points, while Nick Krugh had 8 points for the Cougars. Kenton was led by Seth Kuhlman, the game’s high scorer with 13 points.

With the win, the Cougar JVs are 8-0 on the year.

Van Wert will next play this coming Tuesday at home against Fort Wayne’s Carroll High School.