By JIM LANGHAM

Sportswriter

With the addition of recent wins over Van Wert and Bluffton, the Paulding boys basketball team is currently taking its traditional Christmas holiday break with a four game winning streak to its credit.

On Dec. 18, the local squad ambushed a strong Van Wert team that came into Paulding with a 4-1 record by a score of 62-50.

Going into the second half, Van Wert head coach Dave Froelich was fairly comfortable with the Cougars' 25-20 lead, so much so that he was willing to gamble on keeping sharp-shooting A.J. Smith on the bench with two fouls.

That would usually be pretty good strategy, said Froelich, but things didn’t quite work out the way he had hoped when the Panthers came back on the floor for the final 16 minutes.