The Ada boys basketball team lost to visiting Fort Jennings 60-35 Saturday night, November 27, one day after opening the season with a buzzer-beating win.
Musketeer freshman Jarron Swick poured in a game-high 24 points to lead the visitors to victory.
Ada fell to 1-1 with the non-league defeat, while FJ evened its mark at 1-1 with the win.
"They were the tougher, more physical team," said Ada head coach Vince Halliday. "They had a tough loss the night before and came in ready. We were not eager.
"We missed too many layups, missed too many free throws and made too many turnovers," he continued. "That is a recipe for disaster. But give Ft. Jennings credit. They dictated a lot of what happened, and their two big kids were active."
Ada led when 3-2 Carter Conley hit a short bank shot. But Swick scored 10 straight points to give FJ a 14-6 bulge.
Cayden Murphy's second basket inside pulled Ada within 14-8 after the first period of play.
Jaret Maag and Ethan Murphy traded triples early in the second stanza. FJ center Jon Grote muscled inside for a three-point play, and Swick drained a left wing trey to advance the Musketeer lead to 24-12.
Jaden Leal tallied a layin and Cayden Murphy sank a follow shot to edge Ada within eight. But consecutive triples by Maag helped shoot FJ to a 34-17 cushion.
Ada guard Jacob Sutherly banked in a triple from the top of the key at the second period buzzer to slice the deficit to 14.
Cayden Murphy opened the second half with back-to-back layups. A Spencer Wall putback inched Ada within 35-26, but the hosts went scoreless the last five minutes of the period.
Meanwhile, FJ reeled off a 12-0 run to end the period with a commanding 47-26 lead.
"We made a little spurt there at the beginning of the third quarter, but then it got away from us," said Halliday.
Murphy scored the first four Bulldog points of the final stanza. Conley sank a short banker, and Wall added a driving three-point play off glass.
But Swick netted six straight points and FJ won going away by 25.
"You are not going to win many varsity games scoring 35 points," Halliday summed up. "We had to have made over 20 turnovers. Back to back games are tough."
Murphy led Ada with 14 points. Maag added 12 points for the Musketeers. He canned all three of his treys in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs sank 13 shots overall from the field, including 11 two-pointers and two trifectas. Ada converted seven of 16 from the charity stripe (44 percent).
The Musketeers canned 21 field goals, 15 of which were inside the arc, while six were three-pointers.
FJ sank 12 of its 18 attempts at the foul line (67 percent).
The Musketeers also won the reserve contest, 45-25. Gabe Blankenship led the Ada JV (0-2) with six points.
Ada 35 (1-1)
C. Murphy 6 2-5 14, Wall 2 1-2 5, Sutherly 1 0-0 3, Conley 2 2-5 6, Leal 1 1-2 3, Preston 0, E. Murphy 1 1-3 4, Jones 0, Hoffer 0.
Totals: 11-2/7-16/35. 3-pointers: Sutherly 1, E. Murphy 1.
FJ 60 (1-1)
Trentman 1 3-4 5, Maag 4 1-1 12, Grothouse 1 2-3 4, Swick 9 3-4 24, Neidert 1 0-0 2, Howbert 1 1-2 3, Grote 2 2-4 6, Wurst 2 0-0 4.
Totals: 15-6/12-18/60. 3-pointers: Maag 3, Swick 3.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 8 12 6 9 35
FJ 14 20 13 13 60
JV: FJ 45, Ada 25.
Ada visits McComb in their first road game next Saturday, December 4.
