By Cort Reynolds
LIMA__The youthful Ada High School boys basketball team battled but lost 53-30 at top seed Lima Central Catholic in the first round of the Div. IV sectional tournament Wednesday, February 28, at the Monsignor Herr Gymnasium.
“We really focused on Priddy and Willie Foster, and held them to two points total,” said Bulldog third-year head coach Vince Halliday. “Unfortunately, Dermarr Foster went off and made five three’s!
“Lots of experiences learned this year, as year three comes to a close,” continued Halliday. “Now to build off of them, moving forward.”
Ada ended its season 5-18 following the defeat.
The Thunderbirds improved to 21-2 after their 11th straight win.
The spunky Bulldogs grabbed an early edge by hitting two treys, but the Thunderbirds rallied to lead 14-10 after the first period.
LCC jumped to a 6-2 lead before a triple by junior Levi Green and another trey by sophomore Zack Zimmerman gave Ada an 8-6 edge.
A corner three by Demarr Foster gave the Thunderbirds an 11-10 edge, and they never trailed again. A bank shot triple by Matthew Quatman made it 14-10.
“We hung with them the first quarter,” Halliday agreed. “We scored the ball pretty well in the third (14 points) as well.”
Ada sophomore Kayleb Hickman sank a basket to open the second stanza. LCC then went on a 13-0 run to build a 27-12 intermission lead, capped by two Carson Parker baskets with a minute left in the half.
The Thunderbirds outscored the Bulldogs 13-2 in the second quarter.
A three-pointer by Hickman cut the lead to 36-15 early in the third period. Zimmerman splashed two triples, yet a trey by Quatman extended the LCC lead to 39-21.
Another Zimmerman trifecta and two foul shots by Hickman helped inch Ada within 41-26.
But Thunderbird Dermarr Foster drilled a long triple and two foul shots to restore the lead to 20 points with 30 seconds left in the third period.
Foster then sank another trey just before the buzzer to build the lead to 49-26 heading to the final quarter. The Bulldogs sank four triples in the high-scoring 22-14 stanza.
In the low-scoring 4-4 fourth period, Hickman sank a basket and freshman guard Kolton Dysert finished a nice driving layup to cut the deficit to 20. It was the last Ada basket of the season.
Zimmerman scored a dozen points on four triples. Hickman netted nine markers and Green added five.
Foster led LCC with 17 points on the strength of five treys. Parker added 10 points.
It was the last game for Ada seniors Carson Gossard and Gabe Blankenship.
“Thank you to seniors Carson and Gabe,” noted Halliday.
Ada sank five of 18 two-point goals (28 percent) and canned six of 19 triple tries (31 percent). Overall, Ada made 11 of 30 shots from the field (37 percent).
The Bulldogs converted both of their charity stripe attempts (100 percent).
LCC connected on 13 deuces, and they sank seven treys. The T-Birds made all six of their free throws (100 percent). The hosts committed seven turnovers.
Lima Central Catholic advances to the Div. IV sectional finals Friday, March 1 vs. 11th seed New Knoxville (4-18).
The winner of that game advances to the Wapakoneta district semifinals March 5.
Ada 30 (5-18)
Oldfield 0 0-0 0, Zimmerman 4 0-0 12, Hickman 3 2-2 9, Dysert 1 0-0 2, Green 2 0-0 5, Blankenship 0 0-0 0, Gossard 0 0-0 0, House 0 0-0 0, Conley 1 0-0 2, Lawrence 0 0-0 0.
Totals: 11-30/2-2/30. 3-pointers (6-19): Zimmerman 4, Green 1, Hickman 1.
LCC 53 (21-2)
W. Foster 0 0-0 0, Priddy 1 0-0 2, Parker 5 0-0 10, Judy 2 2-2 6, Quatman 2 0-0 6, D. Foster 5 2-2 17, Bourk 3 0-0 6, Collins 2 0-0 4, Talbert 0 2-2 2.
Totals: 13-7/6-6/53. 3-pointers: D. Foster 5, Quatman 2.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 10 2 14 4 30
LCC 14 13 22 4 53
