By Cort Reynolds
COLDWATER - The Ada boys basketball team endured a cold shooting night and fell to New Bremen 65-31 in Div. IV first round sectional action Tuesday night at Coldwater.
With their sixth consecutive defeat, Ada ended its season with a record of 4-19. Meanwhile, the Cardinals snapped a nine-game losing skid and improved to 2-21 following the win.
The Cards advance to face second-seeded Midwest Athletic Conference rival Fort Recovery (15-7, 6-3 MAC) in the second round Friday, March 3 at approximately 8 p.m. in Coldwater.
Ada began the contest well. Senior Owen Conley netted a layup and classmate Seth Evans drained a corner triple for a 5-0 lead. But after that, it was all Cardinals.
NB freshman Nolan Bornhorst scored 10 early points and the Cardinals took advantage of seven Bulldog first period turnovers to seize the lead.
The Cardinals later reeled off 15 unanswered points over a seven-minute span briding the middle quarters to take a commanding lead.
Myers and Bornhorst tallied field goals, followed by a driving layup from junior Luke Vonderhaar. A Myers free throw ended the first half on a 7-0 run to provide a 29-12 cushion.
NB continued the spurt into the second half by scoring the first eight points. After both teams went scoreless for the first 2:20 of the third quarter, NB junior guard Koby Paul splashed consecutive triples in a 30-second span to extend the lead to 35-12.
Junior guard Avery Powers converted a driving layup to cap the run at 37-12 with four minutes left in the third.
Senior wing Jordan Bailey netted the first points of the quarter for Ada on a driving three-point layin at the 3:01 mark to end the drought. Bulldog freshman guard Phillip Coulson canned two foul shots and Conley knocked down a triple to slice the deficit to 38-20.
Evans scored six straght points for Ada early in the fourth period. Bailey netted two foul shots and Coulson drained a long trifecta to provide the final points of the Bulldog season.
The Cardinal bench finished the game on a 10-3 flurry to make the final margin its largest lead of the night at 34 points.
Bornhorst topped NB with 16 points while Myers added a dozen.
Conley led Ada with 10 points, while Evans added nine. Only five Bulldogs scored as Coulson and Bailey each added five points.
Ada canned just 11 of 46 shots from the field (24 percent) and hit three of 24 from three-point land (13 percent). The Bulldogs sank six of 13 at the foul line (46 percent).
NB canned 25 of its 59 field tries (42 percent), including two of 15 beyond the arc (13 percent). The Cardinals converted 13 of 25 at the charity stripe (52 percent).
NB out-rebounded Ada, 38-35. The Bulldogs committed 22 costly turnovers, while the Cardinals made just nine miscues.
It was the last Ada game for seniors Conley, Evans, Mason Klingler, Bailey and injured Jackson Secor. The four Ada wins were over Ridgemont, Cory-Rawson, Waynesfield and Hardin Northern.
Ada 31 (4-19)
Conley 4 1-2 10, Bailey 1 3-3 5, Swaney 1 0-1 2, Evans 4 0-0 9, Coulson 1 2-2 5, Mullins 0, Frazier 0, Hoschak 0, Klingler 0 0-2 0, Light 0, Spencer 0, Jordan 0, Hall 0, Zimmerly 0.
Totals: 11-46/6-13/31. 3-pointers: Conley 1, Evans 1, Coulson 1.
NB 65 (2-21)
E. Bowers 1 0-0 2, Bornhorst 7 2-2 16, Alig 1 1-1 3, Powers 1 0-0 2, Myers 5 2-4 12, Vonderhaar 2 4-6 8, Messick 0, Heitkamp 1 0-0 2, Wells 1 0-0 2, Doherty 1 0-0 2, Koby Paul 3 0-0 8, A. Bowers 2 0-2 4, Kuck 1 0-2 2, Clem 1 0-0 2.
Totals: 25-59/13-25/65. 3-pointers: Paul 2.
