By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting McComb forged a 12-0 fourth quarter flurry to upend Ada 49-43 in non-league boys basketball action Saturday night.
The difficult defeat dropped the Bulldog record to 4-15, while the Panthers improved to 3-13 with the victory.
"We had 18 turnovers and shot 29 percent from the foul line, you're not going to beat anyone that way," said Ada first-year head coach Dre White.
"You have to give McComb credit. They came out and played harder, they knew this was one they could possibly get. They came out and proved it."
Ada led 36-31 after a short left baseline shot by sophomore post Connor Frazier with 7:47 remaining. But Panther Justin Wasson banked in a driving three-point play to ignite the decisive flurry.
McComb went to a fullcourt press after the score and came up with a steal. Caden Schroeder subsequently banked in a shot to tie it 36-36. Energized McComb then made another steal off their press, and Jacob Case converted a layup to put the visitors ahead to stay with 6:33 left.
"That's been a theme for us, we struggle against the press," admitted White.
Case then split two foul shots, followed by an 11-foot baseline shot from Wasson at the 4:40 mark. Koby Gustwiler capped the run of 12 unanswered points with a fast break layup for a 43-36 advantage.
Ada senior Owen Conley buried a high-arching triple to bring the hosts within 43-39 with 3:30 to go. But Panther Adrian Grubb answered by swishing a big left corner trey with 2:12 left.
The Bulldogs then committed two straight costly turnovers. Case converted two foul shots at the 1:06 juncture for a 48-39 bulge. Frazier finished a power layup inside with 56 ticks left.
Schroeder split two charity stripers and Jordan Bailey converted a follow shot inside with 27 seconds left to cut the deficit to six. Neither team scored the rest of the way as McComb held on for the minor upset.
"McComb played hard, and playing hard covers up for a lot of things," noted White.
Ada jumped out to an 8-3 lead as senior Bailey sank three consecutive field goals - a 14-footer, a left-handed transition layin and an alley-oop.
After Panther basket, Bailey then drained a left corner triple to provide an 11-5 lead. Conley converted a layup off a Jakob Hoschak pass for a 13-7 Ada edge after one period of play.
A Case trey, followed by a steal and layup from the speedy guard, pulled McComb within 14-13. Bulldog senior Seth Evans canned an offensive rebound basket and Bailey drilled a right corner trifecta to build a 19-13 bulge.
But McComb grabbed a 20-19 lead on a 7-0 run capped by another Case triple. Bulldog sophomore Cade Mullins split a pair at the foul line to tie it 20-20 at halftime.
Bulldog junior Ethan Swaney canned consecutive baskets to open the second half and put Ada on top, 24-20. Back-to-back Panther treys from Grubb and Case got the visitors back in front. Yet Bailey put the Bulldogs ahead 27-26 by nailing a right wing three.
A 10-footer by Bailey bounced in off the back iron, and Conley splashed a triple from out front for a four-point edge. Frazier then converted a backdoor layup from Bailey to give Ada a 34-28 lead.
Schroeder drilled a triple with two seconds left in the period to ease McComb within 34-31 heading to the final quarter.
Frazier scored the first bucket of the fourth period. But then the Panthers took control with their press on the fateful 12-0 spurt, and went on to win.
Bailey topped all scorers with 19 points, while Frazier and Conley added eight apiece for Ada. Case led McComb with 18 points while Schroeder contributed 11 and Grubb added nine.
The Panthers sank 17 of 43 field goal tries, including seven of 15 behind the arc. McComb converted eight of 14 at the foul line.
Ada hit on 18 of 42 shots, but made only two of seven at the charity stripe. The Bulldogs canned five of 17 three-point tries.
Ada won the reserve game, 48-42. Mullins scored 14 points to pace the victors. Phillip Coulson netted 12 markers and Jake Rayl added 10.
Ada 43 (4-15)
Conley 3 0-0 8, Bailey 8 0-0 19, Swaney 2 0-1 4, Conrad 0, Evans 1 1-2 3, Mullins 0 1-2 1, Frazier 4 0-0 8, Hoschak 0 0-0 0, Klingler 0.
Totals: 18-42/2-7/43. 3-pointers (5-17): Bailey 3, Conley 2.
McComb 49 (3-13)
T. Schroeder 1 0-0 2, K. Gustwiler 1 0-1 2, Case 5 5-7 18, J. Wasson 2 1-1 5, S. Gustwiler 1 0-0 2, Grubb 3 0-0 9, C. Schroeder 4 2-5 11.
Totals: 17-43/8-14/49. 3-pointers (7-15): Case 3, Grubb 3, C. Schroeder 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 13 7 14 9 43
McC 7 13 11 18 49
JV: Ada 48, McComb 42.
Ada (0-6 NWC) entertains Lincolnview (8-11, 2-4 NWC) Friday, Feb. 17 in a league battle. The Bulldogs (2-7 home) then entertain non-league Temple Christian (9-10) Saturday, Feb. 18 in the home finale.
Ada is the eighth seed out of 12 teams at the Wapakoneta super-sectional drawing. They will likely play Ridgemont (3-15), whom they beat 51-45 in the season-opener, or New Bremen (1-17).
