PAULDING – The Paulding Panthers used a 23-7 third quarter scoring advantage to pull away from Northwest Conference foe Delphos Jefferson for a 66-41 win over the Wildcats at the Jungle Friday night.
After holding a slim 16-15 lead at the end of one period, the maroon and white extended the lead to 29-22 at the midway point of the contest.
Paulding then took complete control in the third quarter, outscoring the Wildcats by 16 points in the stanza to widen the lead to 52-29 at the end of three quarters.
Fletcher Cook paced the way for the maroon and white with 19 points, including a trio of three-pointers, while Jacob Eblin added a trey and finished with nine markers.
Jaret Miller and Bailey Manz both totaled eight points while Blake McGarvey and Carson Shull posted seven markers each.
Payton Beckman (four), Evan Edwards (three) and Hunter Kauser (one) completed the scoring for Paulding, which improves its record to 4-7 in all games and 2-2 in the Northwest Conference.
Ian Wannemacher scored 14 points for the Wildcats with Jeffrey Caputo and Derek Long both bucketing nine markers.
Hunter Mericle finished with five points while Colin Bailey posted three and J.T. Taviano picked up a free throw for the Wildcats, who remain winless in three league games and a dozen contests overall.
The Panthers travel to Ada in Northwest Conference action on Friday before hosting Holgate and Ayersville on Monday and Tuesday in non-league action.
