The Ada High School boys basketball team led almost the entire game against Waynesfield-Goshen in the third-place game of the Border Battle basketball tournament Thursday afternoon, December 30, at Allen East.
But Tiger Za'mere Daniels hit two tie-breaking foul shots with seven seconds left, then blocked a last-second three-pointer to give W-G a 59-57 comeback victory.
"It was certainly our most disappointing loss," said first-year Ada head coach Vince Halliday. "That was a game we should have won. "W-G wanted it more in those last two minutes and made the necessary plays to get it done.
"Our defense wasn't good enough in the second half," he continued. "Too many easy scoring chances for them."
The game turned when Bulldog junior guard Spencer Wall made a layup as he was fouled, but was called for a taunting technical with 1:51 remaining. The substitute foul shot was missed to keep the Ada lead at 56-52.
But it was his fifth foul, disqualifying Ada's most experienced ball handler. Tiger Blake Barnes sank the two technical shots to cut the deficit to two.
Daniels and Carter Conley each split two charity stripers. Tiger Jayden Elliott tied it on a pair of foul shots with a minute to go.
W-G then stole the ball and stalled most of the final minute out. With seven ticks to go, Elliott drove and missed but Daniels was fouled on the rebound and made both shots.
Ada pushed the ball fast up the right sideline, and Cayden Murphy's last-ditch triple try was thwarted by Daniels.
The Bulldogs fell to 4-6 with the heartbreaking defeat. W-G improved to 2-6 with the comeback win.
"It was a tale of two halves for sure," said W-G head coach Nathan Swaney. "We challenged our kids at halftime and man did they respond. I am super proud of their effort to keep scratching and clawing to get back into the game."
Murphy netted six first period points, while Wall tallied four. A Daniels dunk helped the Tigers lead 10-8, but Murphy's eight-footer in the lane tied it. Jacob Sutherly then gave Ada a 13-10 lead after one period by splashing a left corner trifecta.
Two Jaden Leal baskets and three points from Carter Conley helped Ada build a 22-13 cushion. Two layups from Murphy stretched the lead to 12.
Conley later canned a layin and a trey, followed by a transition Murphy finish. Conley swished a lane floater and hit a bank shot to give the Bulldogs a 37-26 halftime edge.
A Murphy layup started the second half strongly, but the muscular Daniels countered with five quick points. Five Conley markers pushed Ada in front after three periods, 45-37.
Murphy and Wall each converted four straight foul shots to open the final stanza. A coast-to-coast drive by Daniels and five Braedyn Schultz points led W-G within 53-50 with 3:33 remaining.
A steal and driving layin from Blake Barnes cut the Ada lead to a single point exactly a minute later.
Then came the game-changing moment after Wall made a nice backdoor cut and sank a layup while being fouled. The taunting technical disqualified him with his fifth foul, rendering him unable to shoot the free throw.
"The technical that fouled out Spencer was huge," admitted Halliday. "We would have been up five, instead we were only up two. We clearly needed him on the floor to close that out. We have to be smarter than that."
W-G scored its last seven points at the foul line in eight tries to finish the comeback win. The two winning Daniels free throws marked the first time the Tigers had led since it was 10-8.
"We made crucial plays down the stretch," said Swaney. "It was a complete team win. Every single one of our kids made an impact on the win."
Murphy and Conley topped all scorers with 18 points apiece, while Wall netted a dozen markers.
Daniels led W-G with 15 points. Elliott contributed 11, and Drew Breitigam added 10.
Ada connected on 19 baskets, hitting 17 two-pointers and a pair of trifectas. The Bulldogs converted 17 of 27 charity stripe tries (62 percent).
W-G canned 21 baskets, sinking 19 two-pointers and two treys. The Tigers hit on 15 of 26 free throw attempts (57 percent).
Ada 57 (4-6)
C. Murphy 7 4-7 18, Conley 7 3-6 18, Sutherly 1 0-0 3, Leal 2 0-0 4, Wall 2 8-9 12, Preston 0 0-1 0, E. Murphy 0 2-2 2.
Totals: 17-2/17-27/57. 3-pointers: Conley 1, Sutherly 1.
W-G 59 (2-6)
Daniels 5 5-9 15, Barnes 3 2-2 8, Breitigam 4 1-3 10, Elliott 2 7-9 11, Jordan 1 0-0 2, Barrington 1 0-0 2, Schultz 2 0-2 5, Craig 3 0-0 6.
Totals: 19-2/15-26/59. 3-pointers: Breitigam 1, Schultz 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 15 22 8 12 57
W-G 13 13 11 22 59
USV improved to 10-0 with a 67-49 win over Allen East in the title game Thursday night. Tournament MVP Connor Sanders scored 20 points to give him 49 for the two-game set.
Ada (0-2 NWC) resumes league play when it hosts local rival AE (4-5, 1-0 NWC) Friday, January 7.
