By Cort Reynolds
COLDWATER - Top seed St. Henry pulled away from upset-minded Ada with big first and fourth quarters to post a hard-fought 64-47 win in boys Div. IV sectional championship action Friday night at Coldwater.
With the loss, the 11th-seeded Bulldogs finished their season 6-18. MAC champion St. Henry (20-3) advanced to the district semifinals at Wapakoneta with the win.
SH outscored Ada by a combined total of 41-20 in the first and fourth periods. But the Bulldogs won the middle quarters, 27-23.
Zach Niekamp, a 6-1 senior, scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to lead the Redskins to victory.
"There is no way I could be more proud of a group of young men," said Ada third-year head coach Dre White. "Going into that game, no one believed we even belonged in the same conversation (with them), and that was pretty obvious when we walked in the gym.
"I told the guys that at the end of the day, as long as the guys in the locker room believe, then nothing else matters," he continued. "And believe they did - not once in the game did we back down or let a team highly-ranked in the state intimidate us.
"As a coach, you cannot ask for more," he added.
The Redskins ran out to a 20-8 first period lead as senior Ethan Thieman scored 14 points on the strength of four three-point field goals.
Junior wing Phillip Coulson and sophomore playmaker Brandon Hull each tallied four Bulldog points in the first stanza.
Ada began the second stanza on a 6-0 spurt to halve their deficit. Coulson knocked down a corner triple, followed by a Cade Mullins free throw. Connor Frazier then netted an inside basket to slice the margin to 20-14.
Redskin Zach Niekamp netted a stickback to end the run. Yet Coulson sank a driving bank shot to make it 22-16. SH senior Jay Knapke split a pair at the line, and Thieman buried his fifth triple to build the lead to 26-16.
Hull then stole the ball and passed ahead to classmate guard Zac Swaney for a transition layup to pull within eight.
Zach Niekamp canned another putback for a 28-18 margin. Frazier then converted a conventional three-point play inside to edge Ada within seven points as 50 seconds remained before intermission.
Matt Bertke canned a free throw to give St. Henry a 29-21 lead at halftime.
The teams battled to a 14-14 third quarter as feisty Ada stayed within striking distance, down 43-35 entering the final stanza. Zach Niekamp came alive with 11 points in the third period after scoring just four in the first half.
Coulson and Hull each scored five points in the quarter, while Swaney added a trifecta.
The squads traded baskets to open the fourth quarter as Frazier's 15-footer pulled Ada within 45-37 at the 7:14 mark.
Caden Niekamp, a burly 6-7 senior, canned a reverse layup to put SH ahead by 10. Frazier and Knapke each split a pair at the charity stripe to keep the margin at 10.
Caden Niekamp then bounced in a mid-range shot to augment the lead to 12. Zach Niekamp sank a reverse layup, yet Frazier knocked down an 18-footer to stay within 52-40 at the 3:33 juncture.
Zach Niekamp then put the game out of reach with consecutive field goals. Bulldog junior Ty Miller converted an old-fashioned three-point play inside to keep the purple and gold within 56-43.
Caden Niekamp scored inside, and Zach Niekamp added another interior basket as SH scored on its sixth straight possession down the stretch to lead 60-43 with two minutes left.
Swaney canned a transition layup, and Mullins sank a bank shot to cut the deficit to 13. But Zach Niekamp netted a southpaw layin and two last-minute foul shots to provide the final margin of 17.
"It was a six to 10-point game for the majority of the game, and rebounding was obviously a factor," summed up White. "We stuck to our game plan for 32 minutes and did everything we needed to do, except win the rebounding battle.
"Against good teams, it only takes one thing and they capitalized," (on the glass) he added.
Zach Niekamp scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth period, while all 17 of Thieman's points came in the first half. Caden Niekamp contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds to lead SH to a huge advantage on the glass.
The Redskins pulled down 12 offensive boards to three by Ada en route to a massive 37-15 margin off the backboards.
Coulson led Ada with 14 points while Frazier netted 11 points and blocked three shots. Hull added nine markers.
Ada connected on 16 of 30 two-point field goal tries (53 percent) and canned two of 13 treys (15 percent). Overall, the Bulldogs made 18 of 43 floor shots (42 percent). The Bulldogs were successful on nine of 17 shots from the charity stripe (52 percent).
SH shot 25 of 49 (51 percent) from the field, including six of 21 beyond the arc (29 percent). The victors shot a sizzling 19 of 28 from two-point range (68 percent). The Redskins converted eight of 12 foul shots (67 percent).
The Bulldogs committed 13 turnovers compared to a dozen miscues by the Redskins.
It was the last game as Bulldog cagers for seniors Frazier, Mullins and Ethan Hall.
"Huge thank you to my seniors," White noted. "The way they stuck with it and finished this year is a tribute to their hard work."
Ada 47 (6-18)
Mullins 1 1-2 3, Frazier 4 3-7 11, Hall 0, Coulson 6 1-2 14, Hull 3 3-4 9, Swaney 3 0-1 7, Cook 0, Miller 1 1-1 3, Gautier 0, Paul 0.
Totals: 18-43/9-17/47. 3-pointers (2-13): Swaney 1, Coulson 1.
SH 64 (20-3)
Thieman 5 2-2 17, Z. Niekamp 12 2-2 27, C. Niekamp 5 1-2 11, Evers 0, Knapke 3 2-4 8, Bertke 0 1-2 1, Link 0.
Totals: 25-49/8-12/64. 3-pointers (6-21): Thieman 5, Z. Niekamp 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 13 14 12 47
StH 20 9 14 21 64
Number one seed St. Henry advances to the Wapakoneta district semifinals March 5 against a league foe, either third seed Minster or eighth seed Fort Recovery. SH beat FR by 23, but narrowly nipped Minster 54-52 on the road Feb. 15.
Ada won four of its last nine games and played well in four of those five losses to finish strong. "I believe there are bright days ahead for us," said White.
