Cougars edge Kalida to reach .500

Van Wert independent

KALIDA — The Van Wert Cougars had to battle cold shooting, as well as the fired-up Kalida Wildcats, but still managed to edge the Wildcats 41-38 in a non-conference game played Tuesday evening at Kalida.

Van Wert had eight players score in the game, led by Connor Holliday’s 13-point performance. Matt Bidlack had 8 points for the Cougars.

Kalida had two players in double figures – Joe Gerdeman with 17 points and Evan Kortokrax with 10, but only four players scored overall for the Wildcats.

Kalida took the early lead, thanks to the Cougars’ inability to put the ball into the hoop, and led 16-4 at the end of one quarter of play. Van Wert cut the Wildcat lead to 4 points with a 10-2 run in the second period and trailed 18-14 heading into the locker room at halftime.

The Cougars tied the game at 23-all by the end of the third quarter, and then hit some crucial free throws, including two big put-ins by Nathan Stoller to put Van Wert up by three late in the game, to close out the game.

The Cougars were 13 of 37 from the field (35.1 percent), including 2 of 11 from three-point range (18.2 percent). Van Wert did better at the line, making 13 of 16 free-throw attempts in the contest (81.3 percent). The Wildcats were 14 of 36 from the field (38.9 percent), including 1 of 4 from beyond the arc (25 percent), and made 9 of 16 free throw attempts (56.3 percent).

The taller Kalida team led in rebounds, 23-16, but the Cougars had fewer turnovers (6-11) in the game.

With the win, Van Wert is now 6-6 overall, while the Wildcats fall to 9-5 on the season.

The Kalida junior varsity team won, 51-36, over the Cougar JVs. Gavin Gardner had 9 points on the night, while Trent Gerding scored 20 for the Wildcat JVs.