By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Speedy visiting Perry wore down Ada to win their non-conference boys basketball contest 78-49 Saturday night.
After trailing the hot-shooting Bulldogs 18-17 following the first quarter, Perry's full-court pressure took a toll on Ada. The Commodores outscored the Bulldogs 43-18 over the middle quarters, many on transition baskets, to build a big lead and cruise to the win.
The Commodores improved to 5-1 with their fifth straight victory, while the Bulldogs fell to 1-5 after their fourth loss in a row versus tough competition.
"Perry does not stop pressuring you from the time they get off the bus to the final buzzer," said Ada fourth-year head coach Dre White. "We tried to slow the tempo down but couldn't. I was a little disappointed with how we handled the ball the second half."
Ada senior wing Phillip Coulson netted 10 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter. "It was good to see Phil bounce back and score well," White noted.
Perry senior guard Chazz Jackson led all scorers with 22 points. Sophomore Brayden Knight netted 17 points and classmate Will Knight added a dozen for the visitors.
"Chazz had a good game, he is tough to guard," said White.
A layup by junior point guard Brandon Hull and a short turnaround shot from Coulson gave Ada an early 4-0 lead. Perry rallied to lead 7-6 before Coulson nailed a left wing triple.
Bulldog junior guard Micah Cook splashed a right wing trifecta to put the hosts ahead, 12-9. Cook and Coulson drained two more treys to give Ada an 18-13 advantage late in the opening stanza.
But layups by Brayden Knight and Jeffrey Simpson with a second left pulled the Commodores within 18-17 after the first quarter.
"It appeared we played well in the first quarter because we made some shots, but it was not the style we wanted to play," White pointed out.
Knight's left wing trey a minute into the second stanza gave Perry the lead for good, 20-18. A Coulson layup cut their lead to 22-20, but the Commodores then reeled off 11 unanswered points to seize control.
Cook's right corner triple stopped the run 2:21 before halftime at 33-23. Yet Jackson led another 8-3 splurge with two baskets sandwiched around a triple by Bulldog Zac Swaney from the right wing.
Hull split two foul shots 23 seconds before the break to make it 41-27 at intermission.
Ada opened the second half strongly. Hull snaked his way through the defense for a left-handed layup, then fed senior post Ty Miller for another layin to slice the deficit to 10.
But Jackson stemmed the tide by draining a triple. After a Terry Riley layup, two Miller foul shots pulled Ada within 46-33. Yet a right wing trey by Riley upped the lead to 16.
"I was hoping they would not make shots against our zone defense," said White. "But when they make three's, Perry is very good."
Coulson's third trifecta from the left wing cut the lead back to 13. But Jackson canned a left elbow jumper to ignite a period-closing 11-0 Commodore flurry.
Will Knight and Brayden Knight each hit two baskets in the spurt to give Perry a commanding 60-36 cushion after three quarters of play.
The fast-breaking Commodores stretched their run of unanswered points to 19 by tallying the first eight points of the fourth stanza. Simpson and Brayden Knight collected two hoops apiece in the quarter-starting splurge.
A Coulson fast break drive stopped the run at 68-38. He later drilled a 15-foot pull-up shot, followed by two Hull free throws.
Hull then canned a southpaw layup, and junior Trent Ennis split two foul shots. Ada junior Tristan Conley sank a nice spinning scoop shot, and Swaney converted a last-minute steal into a layup to end the game on a 5-0 run.
Hull and Cook each added nine points for Ada.
The Bulldogs connected on 18 of 50 shots from the field (36 percent). They canned seven of 24 beyond the arc (29 percent), and found the bottom of the net on 11 of 26 two-point shots (42 percent).
Ada converted six of 11 from the charity stripe (55 percent).
The Commodores shot a fine 53 percent overall from the floor, sinking 32 of their 60 field goal tries. Perry made 26 of 47 from two-point range (55 percent), and hit on six of 13 from three-point territory (46 percent).
Perry canned eight of 12 at the charity stripe (67 percent).
Hull again topped the Bulldogs in rebounds by snaring six of their 21 caroms. Perry out-rebounded Ada, 41-20. Ada committed 20 turnovers, while the Commodores made 16 errors in the fast-paced contest.
Perry also won the junior varsity game, 52-27. The Ada reserves fell to 2-4 with the loss. Tristan Conley led the Bulldog JV with 13 points.
Ada 49 (1-5)
Swaney 2 0-1 5, Murphy 0, Hull 3 3-4 9, Coulson 8 0-0 19, Rayl 0 0-2 0, Cook 3 0-0 9, Miller 1 2-2 4, Conley 1 0-0 2, Ennis 0 1-2 1.
Totals: 18-50/6-11/49. 3-pointers (7-24): Cook 3, Coulson 3, Swaney 1.
Perry 78 (5-1)
B. Knight 7 0-0 17, Yingst 1 3-5 5, W. Knight 6 0-1 12, J. Simpson 4 1-2 9, Jackson 10 0-0 22, Riley 3 2-2 9, Gordon 1 0-0 2, A. Simpson 0 2-2 2.
Totals: 32-60/8-12/78. 3-pointers (6-13): B. Knight 3, Jackson 2, Riley 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 18 9 9 13 49
Per 17 24 19 18 78
JV: Perry 52, Ada 27.
Ada (1-2 home, 0-1 NWC) hosts backyard rival Allen East Friday night, Dec. 20. AE lost its NWC opener to Delphos Jefferson 48-46 at home to drop to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.
The Mustangs are 1-0 away from home this season, as they defeated Vanlue 45-38 in their opener.
AE rallied to edge Ada 45-40 last year in a tough battle at Harrod.
"Allen East is a backyard rivalry game the kids get excited for," noted White. "Then we have Cory-Rawson (1-3) and the Border Battle at Allen East against some other local rivals (1-4 Waynesfield and 3-3 USV).
"I think we have some winnable games coming up," he continued. "Our last four games have been a very tough stretch, but it should prepare us for what we have coming up."
