By Cort Reynolds
ADA - It went down to the final second, but the Ada boys basketball team
lost a hard-fought home opener to visiting Kalida Friday night by a 62-59
count.
The Bulldogs fell to 1-1 while the Wildcats improved to 2-0 after the
final outcome.
Wildcat senior guard Trent Siebeneck sank two pressure foul shots with 4.5
seconds remaining to provide a 62-59 lead, yet Ada had a chance to tie
with a three-pointer.
Ethan Swaney's right wing trey stuck between the rim and backboard with
0.2 left to play. Even though the Bulldogs got the ball back on the
alternate possession, there was not enough time left to get off a real
three-point shot. Owen Conley's tip try off the in-bounds pass from 22
feet came up short.
"We definitely played well, we just have to clean up some things like free
throws and the offensive glass," said new Ada head coach Dre White.
"We can learn from this game for sure against a good program like Kalida.
We have a lot of guys who have not played a ton of varsity minutes."
Ada trailed 44-36 midway late in the third period before rallying. Senior
Conley swished a right wing trey and sophomore Cade Mullins nailed a
pull-up three in transition with six seconds left in the quarter to pull
the Bulldogs within 44-42.
"Cade is not afraid to take a big shot," noted White.
Wildcat senior Collin Nartker and Swaney traded interior baskets to begin
the final quarter. Nartker drilled a pull-up shot yet Mullins answered by
hitting a 17-footer with 5:52 left to keep Ada within a basket.
Siebeneck canned two foul shots before Conley connected on a short
turnaround shot. Wildcat Noah Lambert then swished a top of the key
trifecta to extend their lead to 53-48 with 4:25 to go.
However, Ada senior guard Seth Evans knocked down consecutive triples from
the left side to put the hosts on top 54-53 with 2:47 left.
Lambert responded by draining a right corner three 25 seconds later.
Conley swished a 15-foot pull-up shot to tie it 56-56 for the last time at
the 1:42 juncture.
Conley then stole the ball, but Ada could not regain the lead. The 6-4
Nartker posted up on the left side of the lane and banked in a short shot
while being fouled. He completed the three-point play with 36.7 ticks to
go for a 59-56 edge.
Bulldog senior Jordan Bailey split a pair of free throws at the 19.6 mark,
as did Wildcat post Jeffrey Knueve just 1.3 seconds later. With Kalida
blanketing the three-point line, Mullins drove and banked in a 10-foot,
one-footed runner from the left side that cut the deficit to one with 5.9
seconds to go.
"We told them to take a quick two if it was there," explained White. "We
had run that set before for Owen to shoot a three, and Kalida had him
covered."
Ada then almost immediately fouled Siebeneck, who calmly drained two
clutch charity stripers, forcing the Bulldogs to go for three. But
Swaney's last-second shot came up just short.
The contest was close all the way, with neither team leading by more than
eight at any point.
Ada knocked down eight treys among its 23 field goals, but shot just five
of 10 at the charity stripe. Kalida canned 22 field goals and seven
triples. The Wildcats were successful on 11 of 19 from the foul line.
"The free throws hurt a bit, as did their kickout three's off offensive
rebounds," said White. "Cade, Ethan and Jakob all played pretty well."
Ada was well-balanced, with five players netting between nine and 14
points. Conley led the Bulldogs with 14 markers, followed by 11 from
Swaney. Evans tallied 10 while Mullins and Bailey each added nine.
Siebeneck led all scorers with 18 points while Lambert contributed 16,
including three big treys. Nartker added 14.
The Bulldog reserves lost 48-26 to drop to 0-2. Phillip Coulson led the
Ada JV with 10 points.
