By Cort Reynolds
ADA – The Ada High School boys basketball team held visiting Liberty-Benton to its lowest scoring output of the season, but still lost 48-26 in a first-place Blanchard Valley Conference showdown on January 9.
The Eagles broke open the low-scoring game with a 17-9 third quarter.
The Bulldogs fell to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the BVC after the battle between the two co-league leaders.
L-B improved to 10-1 overall and 5-0 in BVC play with the road victory.
“We did all right against guys who are our size,” said Ada head coach Chris Sautter of the much bigger Eagles. “The game is different when you have 6-5 guys flying at you and contesting shots. We competed and played hard.”
Neither team scored a basket for the first four minutes in the defensive struggle. Ada took a 3-2 lead on a Kayleb Hickman field goal with 3:52 left in the first period.
A conventional three-point transition drive by 6-6 Eagle junior Lincoln Holler made it 7-3. Ada sophomore Carson Conley sank a driving shot, but Brody Thomas nailed a triple. L-B 6-7 senior Jake Gerken then hammered in a transition dunk to put the Eagles ahead 12-5 after the first period.
Conley drove for a three-point play to open the second stanza. Gerken then scored a layup and stuffed in a second dunk to cap a fast break at the 5:42 mark.
Ada junior post Slade Gossman sank a left-handed layin to pull within 18-10 at the 4:33 juncture. Tyler Grose, a 6-8 senior post, canned a stickback off glass.
Two Hickman foul shots with 2:33 left proved to be the last points of the half as Ada went to intermission down just 20-12.
Grose sank a reverse layup to ignite an Eagle second half-opening 8-0 run. Holler canned a follow shot and Gerken converted two free tosses. A Gerken layin stretched the lead to 28-14 before Gossman finished inside by making a southpaw bunny at the 4:31 mark.
Holler canned a power layup, followed by a Gossman foul shot. Hickman made a fine spinning drive and layup to cut the deficit to 30-19.
Gerken answered with a driving layin, followed by a short bank shot from Grose. Ada senior Levi Green cashed a floater with 20 seconds left in the period to make it 34-21.
Gerken then nailed a big triple at the end of the quarter to propel the Eagles to a 16-point lead.
“The three at the end of the third quarter hurt us, and the three layups we missed hurt too,” Sautter noted.
Thomas drilled a trey from the top of the key 2:10 into the final stanza to build the margin to 40-21. Hickman responded by drilling a trifecta from the top of the key 28 seconds later.
Gerken canned a jump hook midway through the fourth quarter. The 6-8 Grose sank a short lane shot and a layup. Holler scored to cap an 11-3 flurry with 1:05 left.
Hickman sank two foul shots to finish the scoring with 33 ticks remaining.
“Carson, Kayleb and Slade were aggressive offensively,” said Sautter. “Our guys need to have a plan B and a plan C if the opponent takes away plan A.”
Hickman led Ada with 11 points. Conley scored seven, and Gossman added six markers.
“They only have one loss for a reason,” said Sautter of L-B. “The effort was there defensively. They came in averaging 65 points a game, and we held them to 48.”
Ada connected on eight two-point field goals, and the Bulldogs drained just one triple. Ada converted seven of 12 free throws (58 percent).
The Eagles canned 16 two-pointers and splashed three trifectas. They also sank seven of 11 foul shots (64 percent).
Ada fell to 2-2 at home after the defeat.
Arlington is also undefeated in the BVC at 3-0, and is 10-0 overall.
The Bulldogs lost the JV game, 41-26. Andrew Allen led Ada with eight points.
Ada 26 (9-4, 4-1 BVC)
Oldfield 0 0-0 0, Dysert 0 0-0 0, Zimmerman 0 0-0 0, Green 1 0-0 2, Conley 3 1-1 7, Hickman 3 4-4 11, Gossman 2 2-7 6, Lawrence 0 0-0 0, Erickson 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-1/7-12/26. 3-pointers: Hickman 1.
L-B 48 (9-1, 5-0 BVC)
Irwin 0 0-0 0, Thomas 2 0-2 6, Gerken 6 4-4 17, Holler 5 3-5 13, Grose 6 0-0 12. Totals: 16-3/7-11/48. 3-pointers: Thomas 2, Gerken 1.
|
ADA LIBERTY-BENTON |
1 5 12 |
2 7 8 |
3 9 17 |
4 5 11 |
FINAL 26 48 |
JV: L-B 41, Ada 26.
Ada looks to bounce back when they host traditional arch-rival Upper Scioto Valley (5-5) Saturday night, January 11. The Rams play at winless Perry (0-9) Friday night in an NWCC bout.
“I am pretty sure both teams circled this game on their schedule before the season,” said Sautter of the rivalry. “(Maddox) Underwood is a really good player, and they have some other nice pieces.”
USV has won five of its last seven games after an 0-3 start.
