By Cort Reynolds
Results of Ada vs. Grove below -
ADA - Visiting Lima Temple Christian finished with a 12-4 flurry to nip Ada 43-42 in a dramstic end to the boys basketball regular season finale Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs had three shots to win the non-conference battle in the final seconds. A driving shot rimmed off, as did a close tip-in try. LTC then batted the rebound out toward midcourt as the clock ticked down.
Senior Micah Cook made a lunging backward save to classmate Trent Ennis for a last-gasp shot, but his 38-footer fell short at the buzzer.
The close defeat was the last of seven heart-wrenching, last-minute losses suffered by Ada this season.
"We have to finish games," said Ada head coach Jon Cook. "It was frustrating because we knew they could come back. They outplayed us, out-executed us and made timely shots.
"They executed well in crunch time," he continued. "Games should come down to who makes more plays, and they did."
Ennis swished a left corner triple to give Ada a 3-2 lead. LTC senior Preston Patrick drilled two mid-range jumpers and a driving southpaw layin to help provide a 10-4 Pioneer advantage.
Ada tied it with a 6-0 spurt. Cook snaked down the baseline for a reverse layup. Senior teammate Jacob Poling made a tip-in and then hit two free throws to pull the hosts within 11-10 after the first period.
Ada junior Cayden Murphy took over the second stanza with two layups and four straight free throws. Pioneer sophomore Landon Callahan sank a driving banker and two charity stripers.
LTC's Jared Huffaker canned a left corner trifecta late in the quarter, but Ada clung to a 21-20 edge at intermission.
Poling buried a triple from out to open the second half. Murphy scored inside, followed by a Poling steal and layup. A follow tip-in by Murphy and a pair of foul shots extended Ada's biggest lead to 32-22 at the 2:01 mark.
Patrick stopped the 11-2 Bulldog run with a lane jumper. But Cook answered by hitting a right corner trey. Pioneer Caleb Kiser splashed a left wing triple, yet Poling canned a layup with 15 seconds left to end the quarter with Ada firmly in front, 37-27.
LTC made the first two baskets of the final stanza to start climbing back into the contest. Derrick Clay hit a left baseline shot, followed by a lane runner from Callahan.
Murphy split two foul shots midway through the period for a 38-31 Ada lead. But then senior Daniel Engle drilled a right corner trifecta. Patrick canned consecutive driving layups to tie it up with 2:17 remaining to play.
Ada senior Tristan Conley swished a tough left baseline 10-footer to give the Bulldogs a 40-38 edge at the 1:46 mark. But Callahan drilled a triple from the top of the key to put LTC in front for the first time since late in the first period.
Murphy gave the Bulldogs their last lead of one point by converting two clutch free throws with 76 seconds left. LTC missed a jumper, but Kiser grabbed a crucial offensive rebound and laid it in off glass to put the visitors back on top 43-42 with 31 seconds to go.
Ada missed two foul shots at the 20-second juncture, yet Callahan missed the front end of a one and one with 11.7 left. The teams fought to a jump ball on the rebound, and the Bulldogs had the possession arrow to give Ada one final chance to win it.
After a timeout, Ada got good looks to win it as Cook drove and missed a tough, hanging southpaw drive. Murphy then missed a tip try, and the last-second Bulldog heave missed at the horn.
"Temple deserved to win, they have a very young team that didn't quit," Cook summed up. "They deserve credit for finishing the game out.
"It was a really good win for them and a very disappointing way for us to end the regular season," he observed.
The purple and gold and Pioneers both ran their records to identical 3-18 marks with the outcome.
Murphy led all scorers with 16 points. Poling added 11 markers, and three other Bulldog seniors - Cook, Conley and Ennis - scored five points each.
Patrick and Callahan netted 13 points apiece to pace the Pioneers.
Ada connected on 12 total field goals. They sank nine two-point baskets, and canned three shots from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs converted 15 of 23 attempts from the charity stripe (65 percent).
LTC knocked down 17 total baskets, five more than Ada. The Pioneers sank a dozen two-point field goals and hit five shots from three-point land.
LTC converted four of eight free throw tries (50 percent).
Ada finished 2-8 at home this season with the difficult defeat. Seniors Cook, Ennis, Conley, Poling, Danny Thompson and Cody Johnston suited up for their final home game.
Those six and the senior cheerleaders and mascot (Tori Green, Barrette Jones and Paige Cole) were recognized in post-game ceremonies. All nine seniors also got to address the crowd.
"We had a long night Friday (a loss at state power Columbus Grove) and a short turnaround today," Cook noted. "Bruce Bowman is a terrific coach and they had eight days to prepare well for us."
The Bulldogs won the two-quarter junior varsity contest 24-16 to finish their campaign with a 7-12 record. Bulldog sophomore Carter Conley led Ada with 11 markers.
Ada 42 (3-18)
Thompson 0, Ennis 1 2-2 5, Cook 2 0-0 5, C. Murphy 4 8-12 16, T. Conley 1 3-6 5, Poling 4 2-2 11, E. Murphy 0 0-1 0.
Totals: 9-3/15-23/42. 3-pointers: Cook 1, Poling 1, Ennis 1.
LTC 43 (3-18)
Engle 1 0-0 3, Hill 1 0-0 2, Callahan 4 3-5 13, Wright 1 0-1 2, Patrick 6 1-2 13, Kiser 2 0-0 5, Clay 1 0-0 2, Huffaker 1 0-0 3.
Totals: 12-5/4-8/43. 3-pointers: Callahan 2, Engle 1, Huffaker 1, Kiser 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 10 11 16 5 42
LTC 11 9 7 16 43
JV: Ada 24, TC 16.
Ada visits fourth seed New Bremen (14-8, 6-3 MAC) in Div. IV sectional first round play Wednesday, February 24. NB went 6-5 at home during the regular season, while 13th seed Ada posted its lone road win at Allen East.
"New Bremen will be a monstrous challenge," Cook admitted.
The Ada/NB winner advances to the sectional finals Feb. 26 at the higher seed, against either fifth-seeded Marion Local (13-9) or 12th seed Waynesfield.
The sectional victors advances to the Wapakoneta district.
ML lost at MAC foe New Bremen 46-42 on Feb. 5.
Grove clinches outright NWC title with win over Ada
By Cort Reynolds
COLUMBUS GROVE - Host Columbus Grove repeated as undefeated Northwest Conference boys basketball champions with a decisive 79-38 win over Ada Friday night.
Grove led the annual Bulldog battle 16-8 after the first period, and extended the margin to 33-16 at halftime.
CG then blew the game open with a monster 33-point third quarter that doubled their point total and built a commanding 39-point cushion.
"I don't think anything that happened was unexpected, but the disapppointing thing was that in the third quarter we lost enough composure to turn it into open gym," said Ada head coach Jon Cook.
"They got hot and the (Tayt) Birnesser kid hit three three's in a row in the third," he continued. "They trapped and rotated defenses. We turned the ball over a lot and didn't keep it a halfcourt game where we could make it a fight."
Tayt Birnesser led CG with 18 points, while Blake Reynolds netted 17. Bo Birnesser and Trey Sautter each contributed 10 markers.
"The first half wasn't good, but we had the tempo where we needed it until late in the second quarter when they lengthened the lead on us," said Cook.
"In the third quarter the wheels came off," he added. "We have done a pretty good job this year of being who we are, but the third quarter got sideways and we couldn't do much to stop it."
Ada senior Tristan Conley scored 10 points and classmate Trent Ennis added nine markers. "Trent played with good energy," said Cook.
Jacob Poling and Cayden Murphy added seven points apiece.
The purple and gold Bulldogs fell to 3-17 overall and finished 1-7 in the NWC with the defeat. Grove improved to 19-2 overall and 8-0 in the NWC with the victory.
"The story of our season is that games like that don't tell us a lot about us, they tell us how good our opponents are," observed Cook.
"Essentially within the league, we were competitive with everyone but the top three teams. There is a sizeable gap between the top three teams and the rest of the league, in my opinion.
"Grove might be the best Div. IV team in the state of Ohio," added Cook. "They are a great high school team at the Div. IV level. Grove is spectacular defensively."
Ada connected on 16 total field goals. They sank 13 two-point baskets inside the arc, and canned three shots from beyond the arc.
Ada converted three of five attempts from the charity stripe (60 percent).
CG knocked down 32 total baskets, twice as many as Ada. Grove sank 23 two-point field goals and hit nine shots from three-point land.
The victors converted six of 11 free throw tries (56 percent).
Ada fell to 1-9 on the road this season with the defeat.
CG also won the junior varsity contest 46-24 to drop the Ada reserve record to 6-12. Bulldog sophomore Carter Conley led Ada with 10 points.
Ada 38 (3-17, 1-7 NWC)
Thompson 0, Ennis 4 0-0 9, Cook 2 1-1 5, C. Murphy 3 1-2 7, T. Conley 4 1-2 10, Poling 3 0-0 7, E. Murphy 0, Phipps 0, C. Conley 0.
Totals: 13-3/3-5/38. 3-pointers: Poling 1, Ennis 1, T. Conley 1.
CG 79 (19-2, 8-0 NWC)
B. Birnesser 4 0-0 10, Reynolds 7 3-7 17, T. Birnesser 6 2-2 18, Clement 4 0-0 9, Sautter 4 0-0 10, Schroeder 1 0-0 2, Hoffman 1 0-0 2, Halker 3 1-2 7, Bellman 2 0-0 4.
Totals: 23-9/6-11/79. 3-pointers: T. Birnesser 4, B. Birnesser 2, Sautter 2, Clement 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 8 11 11 38
CG 16 17 33 13 79
JV: CG 46, Ada 24.
Crestview (7-1) finished second in the NWC, followed by Lincolnview in third place at 6-2. Delphos Jefferson came in fourth (4-4).
Paulding and Spencerville tied for fifth at 3-5, followed by Allen East (2-6) and Bluffton (2-6) in a tie for seventh, and Ada (1-7).
Ada's Tuesday night, February 16 game at MAC foe New Knoxville (5-15) was cancelled due to the snowstorm and will not be made up.
Ada concludes its regular season Saturday afternoon, Feb. 20 at home vs. Temple Christian (2-18). TC recently snapped a 15-game losing streak with a Feb. 9 win over Monclova Christian. TC lost to Perry 81-21 in their most recent game Feb. 12.
The two-quarter JV game starts at 2 p.m.
"This is a game we have a chance to win and we need to give ourselves a chance to give it our best shot," said Cook. "I think Bruce Bowman is as good a coach as there is in the area. Bruce gets more out of less than most guys would.
"They have a hard time scoring," he added. "But they only lost to McComb 52-48. They typically play a matchup zone and are pretty deliberate offensively. It has the makings of a low-scoring game, so it might be tough to get separation.
"We will have six seniors in uniform for their last home game," he added. Ada will recognize their seniors in a post-game ceremony.
