By Cort Reynolds
One purple and gold team was guaranteed to win when the Ada boys basketball team hosted Leipsic in a seesaw Northwest Conference battle Friday night, February 3.
In the end, Leipsic authored a clinching 12-2 run late in the fourth quarter of the back and forth contest to pull out a 67-61 victory.
The Bulldogs led 57-55 in the fourth period before the Vikings got hot late and took advantage of some costly Bulldog turnovers to win.
Both teams sank the exact same number of two and three-point baskets, but the Vikings won the foul line ledger 12-6 to spell the difference.
Ada fell to 7-10 overall and 0-6 in the NWC after the tough loss. Leipsic improved to 7-10 and 2-5 in the NWC with the late comeback win.
"We turned it over in crunch time," said second-year Ada head coach Vince Halliday. "We didn't value the ball enough.
"I thought we played really hard, as did Leipsic," he continued. "We shrunk down the stretch, and they rose to the occasion."
Ada senior guard Spencer Wall scored the first eight Ada points on two triples and a left baseline pull-up swisher from 14 feet.
Bulldog senior Carter Conley sank a baseline driving layup, followed by an Ethan Murphy layin that capped a 9-0 run which gave Ada an early 12-4 lead.
Leipsic rallied and pulled within 18-14 at the end of the first period on a left side Mason Rader trey just before the buzzer.
Murphy drained two treys to extend the Ada lead to 26-18. Jaden Leal nailed a triple from out top for the Bulldogs. Leipsic then reeled off a 15-7 spurt to tie it 33-33.
Senior Casen Jones buried a trifecta from the top of the key to put Ada back on top. But Paul Maag splashed a step-back left wing trey to tie it again.
Ada senior Jayden Bankston spun into the lane for a layup. Viking Trent Siefker swished a jumper from the circle five seconds before the halftime horn to tie it 38-38 at intermission.
"We gave up 24 points in the second quarter," Halliday lamented.
Conley put Ada in front by two with a basket early in the third stanza.
A right side trey by Ty Lammers gave the Vikings a 41-40 edge at the 5:45 mark. Conley knotted it up with a foul shot. Jayce Brecht hit a short banker to put Leipsic ahead 45-41.
Lammers buried a right wing 17-footer, and Siefker made a transition layup for an eight-point lead at the 3:10 juncture. Ada called timeout to stop the 11-1 flurry.
Conley ended the run by drilling a triple with 2:20 left in the third period. He was then fouled shooting a three and made two free throws to inch within three.
A Conley layup edged the Bulldogs within 50-48. But Lammers nailed a three with 17 seconds left in the quarter to put Leipsic ahead by five heading to the fourth period.
Wall canned a driving layup with 6:45 remaining, but Lammers answered with a basket. Leal rattled in a right baseline 16-footer.
Conley split two free tosses and Bankston tied it with a 16-footer from the circle with 5:05 left. Bankston then gave Ada the lead 57-55 on a spinning bank shot with 4:22 remaining.
"I thought we responded well and seized the momentum there in the fourth," said Halliday. "But we couldn't close it out or get stops."
Conley sank a fadeaway putback, but Brecht drove the lane and made a hanging drive.
Maag swished a right wing triple to put the Vikings back in front, 61-59. Two turnovers and a missed front end of a one-and-one hurt the Bulldog chances.
Viking guard Quin Schroeder muscled his way into the lane and hit a short banker with 44 seconds remaining for his only basket of the game. Brecht then sank a backbreaking breakaway layup to provide a 65-59 lead.
Maag sank two charity stripers to cap a 10-0 flurry and stretch the lead to a commanding eight points. Leal canned a half-hook high off glass with 3.1 ticks left to close the scoring.
Conley topped Ada with 19 points. Wall tallied 12 markers, and Leal added nine. Bankston and Murphy each contributed eight points.
Lammers led four Vikings in double figures with 17 points. Siefker netted 15 points. They were supported by Brecht with 14 markers and Maag with 13 to round out the balanced attack.
Both teams canned 17 two-pointers and seven triples. But Leipsic converted 12 of its 14 free throws (86 percent), while Ada made just six of 12 from the charity stripe (50 percent).
The Bulldog reserves won, 50-42.
Ada 61 (7-10, 0-6 NWC)
Bankston 4 0-1 8, Wall 5 0-0 12, Sutherly 0 0-0 0, Conley 7 4-9 19, Leal 4 0-0 9, Murphy 3 0-0 8, Preston 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 2-2 5.
Totals: 17-7/6-12/61. 3-pointers: Wall 2, Murphy 2, Conley 1, Jones 1, Leal 1.
Leipsic 67 (7-10, 2-5 NWC)
Brecht 7 0-0 14, Q. Schroeder 1 0-0 2, Rader 1 0-0 3, Ellerbrock 1 0-0 3, Maag 4 3-3 13, Siefker 4 6-7 15, Scheckelhoff 0 0-0 0, Lammers 6 3-4 17.
Totals: 17-7/12-14/67. 3-pointers: Maag 2, Siefker 1, Lammers 2, Ellerbrock 1, Rader 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 18 20 10 13 61
Leip 14 24 15 14 67
JV: Ada 50, Leipsic 42.
The Bulldogs visit non-league foe Arlington (13-5) Saturday, Feb. 4. The Red Devils whipped Van Buren 60-35 Friday.
"Arlington is pretty darn good," said Halliday.
