By Cort Reynolds
DOLA - Visiting Ada held off a late rally and last-second shot to defeat county rival Hardin Northern 58-55 in a hard-fought boys basketball contest Saturday night.
The non-league victory upped the Bulldog record to 4-13, while the hard-luck Polar Bears fell to 2-15 with their 13th straight defeat. "We will take it," said Ada first-year head coach Dre White. "It definitely feels good to win. It was a big night for Hardin Northern, so we knew they would play hard. Give them credit, they shot well."
HN first-year head coach Jared Thomas was disappointed in the outcome but generally satisfied with his team's effort. "We just have not put four quarters together all year," he lamented. "We are trying to work through the highs and lows. Credit our guys for playing hard and hanging in there."
Ada built a 51-41 lead with 4:30 remaining when senior guard Seth Evans drained a left wing triple off a pass from classmate Owen Conley. But scrappy HN would not go down easily. Senior Zach Wilhelm hit a basket, followed by two Ethan Swaney free throws.
Polar Bear Shawn Weihrauch converted a layin and senior guard Bradlee Watts split a pair of charity stripers that cut the Ada lead to seven. Weihrauch canned a lane runner to bring the hosts within 53-48 at the two-minute mark.
Bulldog junior Jackson Conrad sank a layup 10 seconds later, but Bear sophomore Brady Cramer answered with a bucket at the 1:33 juncture. After blocking an Ada layup try, HN ran out on a key fast break and appeared to score. But Watts was called for an offensive foul in transition as Conley took a crucial charge to wipe away a potential three-point play with 24 seconds to go.
"That was a big call, a bang-bang play, but it did not cost us the game," noted Thomas. Ada turned the ball over a second later and Wilhelm muscled his way in for a short bank shot to inch to 55-52 with 15 ticks left.
Conley drained two clutch free throws with 11.2 seconds to go to re-build the lead to five. Wilhelm sped upcourt and sank a backhanded scoop shot while being fouled with 7.5 ticks to go. He finished the three-point play by nailing the foul shot to rally Northern within 57-55.
Ada sophomore guard Cade Mullins was fouled almost immediately and canned the second of two foul shots with 6.7 seconds remaining to provide a three-point advantage.
"Cade hit a big free throw," noted White. HN rushed the ball upcourt and Weihrauch missed a rushed 23-footer from the right side out top just before the buzzer to help Ada avoid overtime and a possible upset. White said he did not consider fouling HN before they could get off a potential tying three-pointer.
"We didn't want to foul, we just wanted to get a stop," he explained. Thomas felt like his club got a decent look at a tying three, but that their inexperience showed. "Shawn has been a great player for us, but it is his first full year on varsity. I would have liked to take it to the basket for a quick two or foul. We have not learned how to win the close games yet."
Ada raced to a 9-1 lead behind five early Conley points. Ada senior Jordan Bailey sank a 13-footer, then made a flying follow-up shot off glass to keep the purple and gold in front.
Guard Nick Adams came off the Bear bench to ignite their stagnant offense. He canned a reverse layin, a fast break drive and a short banker to pull the hosts within 13-9. Bailey drained a 17-footer and sophomore post Connor Frazier converted two foul shots off the Bulldog bench.
Weihrauch hit a layup, followed by a Wilhelm banker. Wilhelm then splashed a corner trey six seconds before the first period ended to cut the Ada lead to 17-16. Cramer nailed a left wing 19-footer to give HN its first lead at 19-18 early in the second stanza.
Wilhelm drilled a long left wing trifecta to cap a 10-0 flurry and give the Bears their largest lead of the night at 21-17. Frazier sparked an Ada rally by canning a short bank shot, then posted up and netted on a power layup to tie it. Bailey untied it on a foul shot, but Adams converted a nice layup on a low alley-oop pass for a 23-22 HN edge. Conley finished a nice coast-to-coast drive, and Bailey banked in an off-balance drive for a 26-23 Ada lead. Weihrauch sank a layup to make the halftime score 26-25. In the third period, Ada held HN without a field goal until the final seconds.
Four Cramer free throws kept Northern in striking distance, but the Bulldogs lengthended their lead int he decisive period. Swaney canned a trey from out top, Bailey buried a baseline 16-footer and Evans nailed a right wing triple to give Ada some breathing room.
Conley finished a nice left baseline drive off the window for a 36-29 lead with four minutes left in the third. Junior Jakob Hoschak sank a free throw and then spun in a putback layin for a 39-29 cushion. Wilhelm converted two foul shots to stop the 8-0 Ada spurt. yet Conley splashed a long right wing trey off the dribble with 10 seconds to go in the stanza. But Cramer drained a trifecta for the only HN field goal of the quarter to inch within 42-35 heading to the final quarter.
A Wilhelm banker and a jump hook by reserve Ty Schiewe edged Northern within 44-39 with 7:01 remaining. Ada junior Swaney converted a good drive, yet Weihrauch scored in transition. Conley drilled a left elbow pull-up jumper and Evans hit the trey that gave Ada a 10-point margin before HN put on its game-ending 14-7 run that came up just short.
"We got in some foul trouble and with a tight rotation, so we had some young players in there who were not prepared for being in a close game late," said Thomas. "We had a slow start to the game and a slow third quarter, but other than we played pretty welll," he agreed.
Ada shot 43 percent from the field by sinking 21 of 49 from the field. They made just 11 of 21 at the foul line and five of 17 behind the arc. "We kept it interesting," continued White. "We made a good run early then relaxed. We did the same thing in the third quarter, then made some turnovers late to keep it interesting. Give Hardin Northern credit for staying in it. They did not turn it over much and shot well."
HN made 50 percent of its field goal tries (21-42), but struggled at the charity stripe, converting just 10 of 21. The Bears sank three of nine from three-point land. Ada out-rebounded Northern decisively, 34-22. The 6-4 Conley led everyone with 15 big boards while Bailey added eight caroms, all on the offensive glass.
Conley tallied a team-high 17 points while Bailey contributed 13 markers and Swaney added 10 for the balanced Bulldogs. "Owen played well and rebounded really well," said White. "Mason Klingler came off the bench and gave us some good minutes."
Wilhelm led all scorers with 21 points. Cramer and Weihrauch added 11 points apiece. The Bulldogs committed 14 turnovers to 11 by Northern as the visitors snapped losing streaks of four overall and seven in a row away from home.
Ada easily won the reserve game 48-15 as Bulldog Phillip Coulson led all scorers with 17 points. Frank McCoy topped the Bear JV with six points.
At halftime, HN honored its 13 1,000-point career scorers. Eight women and five men were recognized at halfcourt in a lengthy ceremony. Among those honored were current Ada volleyball coach Melissa Gossard; number one all-time school scorer Julie Fulks, a 1996 graduate with 1,652 points; current Lady Bear senior standout Holly Wilson; 2005 grad Damien Plaugher, who is third all-time in boys points with 1,451, and first in rebounds (971); Liberty-Benton football coach and 1988 alum Tim Nichols, who is second with 1,456 points; and 1972 grad Bob Walden, who is first with 1,633 points.
Ada 58 (4-13) Conley 6 3-6 17, Bailey 6 1-2 13, Swaney 3 3-4 10, Conrad 1 0-0 2, Evans 2 0-0 6, Mullins 0 1-2 1, Frazier 2 2-5 6, Hoschak 1 1-2 3, Klingler 0. Totals: 21-49/11-21/58. 3-pointers (5-17): Conley 2, Evans 2, Swaney 1.
HN 55 (2-15) Adams 4 0-0 8, Weihrauch 5 1-4 11, Wilhelm 8 3-6 21, Watts 0 2-6 2, Cramer 3 4-4 11, Schiewe 1 0-0 2, Wilmoth 0 0-1 0. Totals: 21-42/10-21/55. 3-pointers (3-9): Wilhelm 2, Weihrauch 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 17 9 16 16 58
HN 16 9 10 20 55
JV: Ada 48, HN 15. Ada (2-7 road, 0-5 NWC) visits another local rival in Bluffton (8-8, 3-2 NWC) Friday, February 10 for a conference battle.
The Bulldogs (2-6 home) then host McComb in a non-league bout Feb. 11.
"Bluffton will be tough," warned White.
HN plays at North Baltimore in a makeup game Wednesday, Feb. 8.
