By Cort Reynolds
COLDWATER - Ada got off to a big early lead but could not hold off Waynesfield-Goshen and fell 66-59 in boys Div. IV sectional semifinal action at Coldwater Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs end their season 4-19. Meanwhile, Waynesfield improves to 7-16 and advances to the sectional finals Friday.
Ada raced to a 15-2 advantage, but the Tigers inched within 17-8 by the end of the first period. W-G then heated up and outscored the Bulldogs 37-18 over the middle quarters to seize momentum and control of the game.
"A positive was the opening segment for us," said Ada second-year head coach Dre White. "We played with a purpose and a lot of energy, and that led to probably the best basketball we had played all year.
"Early on, we had all 15 guys involved - the ones on and off the floor were involved and contributing. Unfortunately, we did not sustain this throughout," he noted.
W-G extended its lead to as many as 16 in the fourth period before Ada finished on an 11-2 run to close within seven at the end.
Senior guard Ethan Swaney led Ada with 16 points in his final game. Senior post Seven Williams added 13 points.
Ada led 10-2 after two baskets and a trifecta by Williams. A trey by Swaney and a field goal by junior post Connor Frazier swelled the lead to 13 with 2:35 to go in the opening stanza.
After a timeout, W-G regrouped. A 6-0 Tiger spurt cut the Ada margin to 15-8, but Frazier tallied a follow shot to provide a 17-8 lead after one quarter.
Bulldog senior Seth Conley buried a 19-footer to start the second stanza. Teammate Cade Mullins banked in a lane shot to stretch the Ada cushion to 21-10.
But Tiger Layton Campbell scored six points and teammate Brock Waitman sank a pair of bank shots to pull W-G within three. Jaden Maxwell sank a basket to edge the Tigers to 25-24 at intermission, capping a 19-4 run.
W-G took its first lead of the night 28-27 on consecutive baskets by Tanner Hurley early in the third period. Britton Elliott swished a triple to make it 31-27 Tigers.
Swaney answered with a triple to cut the lead to one. But Elliott sank two technical free throws and a trey to cap a key five-point possession that provided a 36-30 margin.
Conley splashed a trey and Phillip Coulson banked in a drive to get Ada within 36-35. Yet Tiger senior Kale Kaufman scored three points, and Waitman added an old-fashioned three-point play.
Campbell drained a dagger trey at the third period horn to stretch the lead back to 45-35.
A Hurley basket to open the final quarter capped the decisive 11-0 W-G spurt. Williams ended the run by knocking down an 18-footer. Swaney canned a drive to get Ada within eight at the 6:01 mark as they stayed in striking distance for one last run.
However, Campbell responded with a big triple to restore the lead to 11. Elliott converted a pair of foul shots to go back in front by 13, and Frazier knocked in a bank shot.
Campbell then canned back-to-back driving shots to stretch it out to a commanding 56-41 advantage at the 3:55 juncture. Coulson sank a basket yet Waitman answered by hitting a 17-footer.
Coulson splashed a trey to inch the purple and gold within a dozen. But Kaufman and Waitman each scored to restore the lead up to 16.
Williams sank a putback before Kaufman drilled two foul shots. Swaney buried a trifecta and Frazier converted a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to 64-54 with 58 seconds remaining.
But W-G ran clock before Elliott and Mullins traded a pair of charity stripers. Ada freshman Zac Swaney nailed a trey shortly before the buzzer to cut the final margin to seven.
"My hope is that my young players who were watching realized what playing with effort and purpose can do, and we can build upon that going forward," said White.
"Much credit given to coach Hollar and his gang - they played extremely hard for 32 minutes," he added.
Campbell led a balanced Tiger attack with 17 points. Elliott contributed 14 markers while Kaufman netted a dozen. Waitman added 11 points as four Tigers hit double figures, and another tallied eight.
Ada nailed seven of its 22 triple tries (32 percent), and found the bottom of the net on 18 of 34 two-point field goal attempts (53 percent). Overall from the floor, the purple and gold connected on a solid 25 of 56 shots (45 percent).
The Bulldogs were successful on three of their five attempts at the charity stripe (60 percent).
The Tigers connected on 17 of 37 two-pointers (46 percent), and drained five of 10 from three-point land (50 percent). Overall, the Tigers sank 22 out of 47 shots from the field (47 percent). W-G also converted a crucial 17 of 21 from the charity stripe (81 percent).
Waynesfield out-rebounded Ada, 27-23. The Bulldogs committed 13 turnovers to just five miscues by the Tigers.
W-G had previously beaten the Bulldogs at home 62-56 back on December 29 in the Border Battle tournament semis.
Up next, the 10th-seeded Tigers advance to the sectional finals at Coldwater Friday, March 2 vs. second seed St. Henry. The victor then goes on to the Wapakoneta district semis March 6.
Ada 59 (4-19)
E. Swaney 7 0-1 16, Williams 6 0-0 13, Mullins 1 2-2 4, Frazier 4 1-1 9, Conley 2 0-0 5, Coulson 3 0-1 7, Hull 1 0-0 2, Hall 0, Z. Swaney 1 0-0 3, Hollinger 0, Conrad 0.
Totals: 25-56/3-5/59. 3-pointers (7-22): E. Swaney 3, Z. Swaney 1, Coulson 1, Conley 1, Williams 1.
Waynesfield 66 (7-16)
Elliott 2 8-8 14, Campbell 6 3-4 17, Rickle 0, Kaufman 4 3-4 12, Maxwell 2 0-0 4, Hurley 3 2-4 8, Waitman 5 1-1 11.
Totals: 22-47/17-21/66. 3-pointers (5-10): Campbell 2, Elliott 2, Kaufman 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 17 8 10 24 59
W-G 8 16 21 21 66
It was the final game for Ada seniors Ethan Swaney, Conley, Jackson Conrad and Williams.
"I am thankful for everything our seniors have given the program," summed up White. "I believe we have a group of young guys in our program that are hungry to change things around, and I am eager to continue working with them.
"We saw success at the JV, freshman and junior high levels this year, and that is absolutely something we are looking to build upon," he continued. "We were able to keep a core group of young guys together at the JV level and they got a taste of success that they will look to bring to the varsity level.
"Our eighth grade had a strong year, and our seventh graders were co-champions of the NWC eastern division. As a program, we will continue to work on the things we need to improve on to put us in a position to succeed," he added
