Bulldog boys basketball edged by LCC in OT in sectionals

By Cort Reynolds

LIMA – The visiting Ada High School boys basketball team battled hard but lost a 45-42 overtime thriller at Lima Central Catholic in a taut Div. VI sectional final at Monsignor Herr Gymnasium on Friday, February 21.

Bulldog Zack Zimmerman forced overtime by splashing a clutch three-pointer near the end of regulation. 

Ada fell behind by five late in the extra session yet rallied and had a triple try to tie it at the very end. But the shot came up short.

The Bulldogs finished the season 14-9 with the tough defeat.  

Top-seeded LCC improved to 15-7 after the hard-fought win. They advance to the district semifinals at Elida vs. third seed Bluffton Wednesday, February 26 at 7:30 p.m.

“I am proud of the kids,” said Ada head coach Chris Sautter. “We knew we needed to handle pressure and control tempo, and the kids did that. They gave all they had for 36 minutes.”

Bulldog sophomore guard Kolton Dysert canned the first basket of the game. Junior Zimmerman nailed a left corner triple to make it 5-0 in the opening minute.

Freshman guard Jeffrey Williams followed in his own miss against the Ada box and one zone to can the first Thunderbird basket over two minutes into the fray. 

Junior Jordan Priddy scored on a putback to cut it to 5-4. Williams sank a field goal to put LCC ahead for the first time. T-Bird sophomore Xavier Pernell canned two foul shots.

Zimmerman made a driving basket to stop the 8-0 T-Bird run. Priddy drove for a basket and a 10-7 lead. LCC stole the ball in transition and Priddy buried a triple to make it 13-7.

Ada sophomore guard Carson Conley sank a driving basket to cut the deficit to four. T-Bird Brady Parker missed a trifecta at the end of the first period to keep LCC ahead 13-9 after the fast-paced quarter.

Bulldog sophomore T.J. Griffith pulled down an offensive rebound and split two foul shots to open the second stanza. Conley ran down a blocked shot, drove and laid it in to pull Ada within 13-12.

Williams split the defense for a scoop shot 90 seconds into the quarter.

Ada junior Kayleb Hickman knocked down a left corner triple to tie it 15-15 with 5:51 left in the first half. Hickman was fouled and made one free throw to put Ada back in front by a point.

Williams penetrated a seam and bounced in a runner. Senior Levi Green sank a backside layup to give the Bulldogs the lead. Pernell missed two charity stripers with 2:46 left.

A straight-line drive by Conley made it 20-17 at the 2:08 mark. Priddy canned a stickback hoop to cut the lead to 20-19. Pressing LCC stole the ball and missed, but Priddy sank another putback to give the hosts a 21-20 edge. 

Ada held for the last shot and Conley drew a foul with 3.8 seconds left. A double technical was called, and Conley sank the second shot to tie it 21-21 at intermission. 

A strong start to the period led to a 12-8 Bulldog second quarter. LCC made just one of nine from three-point land in the opening half. Ada made seven turnovers to four miscues by the T-Birds.

LCC stepped on the sideline to open the second half. Neither team scored the first four minutes of the third period. Parker canned a triple midway through the stanza to break the tie.

Conley finished a shot in traffic to cut it to 24-23. Parker was fouled after grabbing the 12th LCC offensive rebound, and he made one free toss. Zimmerman hit a driving lane shot to tie it 25-25.

Seconds later, Parker followed in his own miss with a basket. Zimmerman knotted it up again at 27-all by hitting a turnaround shot with two minutes left in the third period.

Priddy shook the defense and knocked down a triple to break the tie. Parker missed a trey, and Ada got the ball with 44 seconds to go. The Bulldogs missed a triple but LCC lost the ball out of bounds at the 14-second mark.

Conley took advantage of the extra chance and sank a layin with a few ticks left to inch Ada within 30-29 heading to the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs made no turnovers in the third stanza.

Zimmerman canned two foul shots to open the final period off a backdoor cut. Parker provided the seventh lead change of the game by nailing a triple.

Drew Pester was fouled after an offensive board and split two free tosses with 6:28 left in regulation. Priddy finished a power move inside to give LCC a 36-31 lead with 4:30 to go in the fourth.

Conley finished a spin move and driving shot to cut it to 36-33 with 3:29 remaining. Conley rebounded a missed Parker trey, but Ada misfired from deep and Pester rebounded.

Williams missed a long trey and Zimmerman came up with the loose ball rebound as he was fouled. Yet Ada missed a triple and the rebound went out of bounds to the hosts.

Hickman stole the ball from Williams at midcourt and sank a driving spin shot. Williams answered by making a nice driving finish with 90 seconds to go.

Conley drew a foul and made two free throws with 1:17 left to cut the lead to 38-37. Williams was fouled on a drive and canned both shots with 33 seconds left to keep LCC ahead by three.

Ada barely missed a trey, but the rebound went out of bounds off LCC with 21 seconds left. After a timeout, Zimmerman tied it 40-40 by drilling a clutch right corner triple with under 10 seconds remaining.

LCC called timeout with 7.3 ticks left. Priddy’s driving shot missed as did the tip try at the buzzer to force overtime.

Ada junior Gavin Oldfield won the tip to give the Bulldogs the first possession of the four-minute overtime. Ada ran off nearly two minutes before missing a shot.

Conley fouled out on a Pester drive, and he hit the second free toss with two minutes left. Ada missed two foul shots, but Zimmerman got the rebound and called timeout with 1:10 left.

Priddy then came up with a big play. He stole the ball and finished a southpaw drive to make it 43-40 with under a minute left in OT. A turnover on an illegal screen at the 45-second mark gave LCC the ball back.

Williams converted two big foul shots to extend the lead to five with 43 seconds left. Zimmerman grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a deuce with 16.2 seconds to go.

The pesky Green knocked the ball off Williams with 11.4 seconds left to give Ada one last chance to force a second OT. But Hickman’s last-gasp triple try was short, and time expired on the final comeback effort.

Zimmerman tallied 16 points to pace the Bulldogs. Conley netted 15 markers. Hickman added six. 

Priddy topped LCC with a game-high 18 points. Williams tallied 14 points, and Parker added nine.

Ada finished 10-3 on the road this season after the tough defeat. The young Bulldogs improved from five to 14 wins this season.

Ada canned 13 of its 23 two-point field goal tries (57 percent), and the Bulldogs drained three of 16 triples (19 percent). Ada converted seven of their 12 free throw attempts (58 percent).   

Overall, the Bulldogs sank 16 of 39 shots from the field (41 percent).

LCC connected on 12 of 27 two-pointers (44 percent) and drilled just four of 23 trifectas (17 percent). The Thunderbirds converted nine of 15 foul shots (60 percent). 

LCC canned 16 of 50 shots overall (32 percent) from the field. The T-Birds grabbed 19 big offensive rebounds. 

“We may have lost, but we took a step in the right direction,” Sautter summed up. “I feel the entire program is moving in the right direction as well. The school and community have a lot to be proud of.  

“I appreciate the work, effort and attitude of our three seniors – Levi Green, Brody Erickson and Ethan Lawrence,” he added.

Ada 42 (14-9)
Oldfield 0 0-0 0, Dysert 1 0-0 2, Zimmerman 6 2-2 16, Green 1 0-0 2, Conley 6 3-4 15, Hickman 2 1-2 6, Griffith 0 1-4 1, Zoladz 0 0-0 0, McKean 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 16-39/7-12/42. 3-pointers (3-16): Zimmerman 2, Hickman 1.
LCC 45 (15-7)
Priddy 8 0-1 18, Parker 3 1-2 9, Pester 0 2-4 2, Quatman 0 0-0 0, Williams 5 4-4 14, Pernell 0 2-4 2, White 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 16-50/9-15/45. 3-pointers (4-23): Priddy 2, Parker 2.