By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Host Ada shot its way to a big halftime lead and held on to beat feisty North Baltimore 63-51 in a foul-filled boys basketball bout Tuesday night.
The teams combined for 26 second-half fouls in the chippy and lengthy contest, and 36 overall.
Ada junior Cayden Murphy returned from an ankle sprain that forced him to miss the last game vs. Crestview, and led the victors with 19 points.
Bulldog senior guard Micah Cook drained three three-pointers in the second period as Ada built a 27-14 halftime advantage.
The Tigers battled back from a 19-point deficit with a late third-period run, but never got closer than nine points down the stretch.
The Bulldogs improved to 2-12 overall and snapped a four-game loss streak with the hard-earned win. NB fell to 2-15 with the non-conference loss.
"I thought taking that punch in the late third quarter/early fourth and still going on to win showed growth," noted Ada head coach Jon Cook. "We were able to extend the lead back out a bit at the end."
NB 6-1 junior Mitch Clark led all scorers with 28 points. He hit a layup to open the scoring 85 seconds into the fray. Ada sophomore Spencer Wall canned the first Bulldog bucket at the 5:40 mark.
After two Tiger free tosses, Tristan Conley banked home an inside double-pump shot. Trent Ennis sped out in transition and converted a breakaway layin for a 6-4 lead.
Junior Cayden Murphy canned another layup at the 3:15 juncture. Zach Weinandy stole the ball nearh halfcourt and drove in for a layup. Conley splashed a left wing trifecta, and Ada led 11-6 after one period of play.
Murphy converted a short banker off a nice Ennis jump pass feed on the first possession of the second stanza. Micah Cook drained a triple followed by a nice Clark drive to make it 16-8.
Cook swished s right wing trey for a 19-9 lead with just under six minutes left in the half. A nice drive and free throw from Clark cut the Ada lead to 19-12.
Ennis knocked down a triple halfway through the second period to put Ada ahead by 10. Cook rattled in a high-arching trey fromt he right wing for a 25-12 cushion.
Clark scored again for NB at the 2:40 mark. Ada ran a delay game and Wall converted a southpaw layin with 20 seconds left in the first half to give the hosts a 27-14 lead at intermission.
"It was the second game in a row where the second quarter was really good for us," Cook noted. "We shared the ball and had good movement."
Junior guard Johnny Hagemyer canned a foul line jumper to open the second half for NB. Teammate Caiden Phillips split two charity stripers to inch within 10, but Murphy canned a layup.
Speedy Ada senior guard Jacob Poling chased down a long lead pass and converted a transition layup. Murphy cut hard to the hoop for another layup.
Cook swished a one-footed lane floater to extend the margin to 35-17 at the 4:12 mark. Junior post Murphy converted a pair at the line to push the lead to 20.
Clark canned a lane jumper to end the 8-0 Ada spurt, but Ethan Murphy splashed a left corner trey. Wall sliced through the defense for a southpaw scoop layin and a 42-19 cushion at the 2:20 mark.
Hagemyer canned four consecutive foul shots and a basket, yet Cayden Murphy answered with two foul shots to make it 44-25. Clark converted a three-point play inside off a bullet feed from Weinandy through the Ada matchup zone.
Clark canned another traditional three-point play with 13.9 ticks left. NB stole the ball and an Ada foul at the buzzer resulted in two Weinandy foul shots. The Tigers ended the period on an 8-0 spurt to edge within 11 points.
Clark scored again inside to open the final stanza. Ennis canned a backdoor layup to end the 10-0 flurry and put Ada back on top 46-35 with 6:30 remaining. Clark was fouled and converted both free shots.
Poling came up with a blind-side backcourt steal and flipped in a baseline floater with 5:39 to go. "That was a big-time play," Cook observed.
Tiger Gunner Kepling sank two free throws, yet Poling answered with two of his own.
Murphy and Clark each converted a pair at the line to keep it an 11-point separation. Murphy muscled in a three-point play inside while drawing Clark's fourth foul.
Hagemyer swished a triple from out top to make it 55-44 with 3:33 left. Cook drove the left side for a basket, followed by another Hagemyer deuce at the 2:41 mark.
Ethan Murphy split two charity stripe tries with 1:53 to go. Hagemyer buried a left wing trifecta, and Cook converted two free throws for a 60-49 margin.
The Bulldogs then broke the Tiger press for an uncontested Cayden Murphy layin off a Cook assist that sealed the outcome. "That took some of the wind out of their sails," said Cook.
Clark scored inside and Conley split two foul shots before rebounding his own miss to provide the final tally.
"It was a big win for us, but the way we responded to their run made me happy," Cook offered. "I will take that performance."
Hagemyer tallied all 16 of his markers in the second half to support the inside scoring of Clark.
Cook contributed 15 points while Ennis tallied seven markers. Wall, Poling and Conley added six points each.
The Bulldogs knocked down a total of 22 field goals. They canned 16 baskets inside the arc, and drained six shots from three-point land.
Ada converted 13 of 22 attempts from the charity stripe (59 percent).
The Tigers sank 15 total baskets. They connected on 13 two-point field goals and made two shots from beoyond the arc.
NB converted 19 of 22 free throw attempts (86 percent) from the charity stripe. The Tigers sank six more foul shots than Ada as both teams attempted 22 free tosses.
The Bulldogs improved to 2-5 this season at home with the victory.
"Our guys were able to bounce back from two tough losses, get their minds right and deliver a really good effort," Cook noted. "Murphy came back and played well."
There was no junior varsity contest since it was the back end of a varsity-only girls/boys doubleheader. The Ada girls beat USV 55-34 in the opener.
Ada 63 (2-12)
Thompson 0, C. Murphy 6 7-9 19, Ennis 3 0-3 7, Cook 5 2-2 15, Wall 3 0-0 6, T. Conley 2 1-2 6, Poling 2 2-4 6, E. Murphy 1 1-2 4, C. Conley 0 0-0 0, Preston 0.
Totals: 16-6/13-22/63. 3-pointers: Cook 3, Ennis 1, E. Murphy 1, T. Conley 1.
NB 51 (2-15)
Phillips 0 1-2 1, Hagemyer 5 4-4 16, Weinandy 1 2-2 4, Suman 0, Kepling 0 2-2 2, B. Baltz 0, M. Clark 9 10-12 28.
Totals: 13-2/19-22/51. 3-pointers: Hagemyer 2.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 11 16 17 19 63
NB 6 8 19 18 51
JV: No game.
Ada (0-3 NWC) hosts league foe Paulding (6-8, 2-3 NWC) Friday, January 9. The Panthers come in on a four-game losing skid, but they were mostly close defeats.
Last weekend at home, Paulding lost 47-45 to Delphos Jefferson, then fell in overtime to Montpelier. They also lost by only two points to league power Columbus Grove.
"Paulding has had some stretches of good play this season," said Cook. "Last year they showed multiple defenses when Ada played over there."
The Bulldogs won at Paulding 57-51 last season.
Against their only other common opponent besides Delphos Jefferson, the Panthers beat Bluffton 52-47. Ada lost a close home battle to the Pirates, 55-52.
Ada will also play a makeup non-league game at Waynesfield (2-10) Monday, Feb. 1.
