By Cort Reynolds
COLDWATER - Ada broke away from a halftime tie with a big third quarter and went on to defeat New Knoxville 55-46 in boys Div. IV sectional semifinal play Tuesday night at Coldwater.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-17 with the victory and advanced to the sectional finals against top seed St. Henry Friday.
Meanwhile, the 10th-seeded Rangers end up 3-20 after suffering their eighth consecutive defeat. They lost 13 of their final 14 games after nipping Ads at NK 47-44 Jan. 5.
"It was not the start we were looking for, but we showed up in the second half and did what we needed to do," said Ada third-year head coach Dre White.
"Defensively, I think we created some timely turnovers and were able to convert.
"Offensively, it was good to see some balance," he continued. "We've become accustomed to relying on two guys as of late, and we had some other guys step up and make some shots tonight."
The game was tied 11-11 after one period and 26-all at intermission. Ada pulled ahead 42-35 with a 16-9 third period behind eight points from senior post Connor Frazier.
The Bulldogs then extended the lead to 52-39 with 3:07 remaining to play after sophomore guard Zac Swaney buried two triples.
NK senior guard Jared Osborne sank a driving shot and then stole the ball, leading to a Patrick Covert trifecta that cut the lead to 52-44 with 90 seconds left.
Frazier made a driving shot to stop the Ranger spurt. After a Ranger miss, Ada senior Cade Mullins rebounded and sophomore teammate Brandon Hull was fouled.
Hull converted the second of two foul shots with 57 ticks to go to put Ada up by 11. NK junior Jakob Rollins knocked down a driving shot to pull within 55-46 with 47 seconds left.
But the Bulldogs were able to run out the final 47 seconds without being fouled to cap the victory.
Swaney scored a game-high 16 points on the strength of four treys to lead a balanced attack. Junior wing Phillip Coulson tallied 13 points.
Frazier netted all 10 of his points in the second half, including six for six foul shooting. Hull added nine markers.
Osborne and Sammy Anspach each led the Rangers with a dozen points.
Ada connected on 13 of 26 two-point field goal tries (50 percent) and drained seven of 18 treys (39 percent). Overall, the victors made 20 of 44 floor shots (45 percent). The Bulldogs were successful on eight of nine from the foul stripe (89 percent).
NK shot 48 percent from the field, and the Rangers converted both of their mere two foul shots (100 percent).
Ada out-rebounded NK, 24-22. The Bulldogs committed just seven turnovers compared to 13 errors by the Rangers.
"This was one we needed as a program," White summed up. "It is our first sectional (tournament) win in three years. It was not pretty, but I am happy for our three seniors.
"They have been through some rough times and stuck with us throughout this rebuilding process. They deserved tonight," he added.
Ada 55 (6-17)
Mullins 1 0-0 3, Frazier 2 6-6 10, Hall 2 0-0 4, Coulson 6 0-0 13, Hull 3 2-3 9, Swaney 6 0-0 16, Cook 0.
Totals: 20/8-9/55. 3-pointers (7-18): Swaney 4, Mullins 1, Coulson 1, Hull 1.
NK 46 (3-20)
Osborne 12, Davis 0, Covert 6, Lageman 2, Poppe 0, Anspach 12, Rollins 6, Bierlein 8.
Totals: 20/2-2/46. 3-pointers: Anspach 2, Covert 1, Anspach 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 11 15 16 13 55
NK 11 15 9 11 46
Eleventh-seeded Ada now faces top seed St. Henry (19-3, 8-1 MAC) in the sectional finals Friday, March 1 in Coldwater at 6:15 p.m.
The Redskins won the Midwest Athletic Conference crown, and are riding an 11-game win streak. Their last loss came to Anna January 14.
The Ada/SH winner advances to the Wapakoneta district semifinals March 5.
"St. Henry is obviously very good," said White. "I am just excited for the opportunity for our kids."
