By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Rugged visiting New Knoxville used a big third period to pull away from Ada and post a 63-47 non-conference boys basketball win Saturday night.
The purple and gold drop to 2-9 with their seventh straight defeat, while the Rangers improve to 4-5 with the victory.
Ada trailed just 27-21 at halftime. But with junior post Connor Frazier benched to start half two with three fouls, NK scored inside repeatedly. The Rangers surged to a 13-4 start en route to a decisive 20-9 third period edge.
The visitors led by as many as 17 in the final period and never by less than 13, keeping the Bulldogs at bay.
"We got outplayed and outworked," said Ada second-year head coach Dre White. "We didn't rebound or defend well. We came out flat to start both halves.
"They just beat us up inside and brought a lot of physicality that we didn't handle real well," White continued.
The Rangers out-rebounded the Bulldogs 33-22, and snared a dozen offensive boards.
Frazier gave Ada its only lead of the night on a layup to start the game. NK ran off the next six points and never trailed again. Ada senior guard Ethan Swaney bounced in a fast break drive to pull within 9-6.
Another Swaney field goal and a short shot by Phillip Coulson cut the deficit to 13-10 after one period of play.
The Rangers tallied the first six points of the second stanza to extend their lead to nine. Swaney then scored on a post-up banker, followed by a steal and driving layin from Coulson.
Sammy Anspach canned his fourth straight free throw of the quarter for NK, but Frazier annswerd by hitting a short banker. Ada senior Jackson Conrad sank a layup to edge within 21-18.
Ranger guard Ben Lammers drilled a short turnaround shot, followed by three foul shots by Ada junior Cade Mullins. Burly NK senior Nathan Tinnerman finished a driving bank shot, and Jack Bartholomew hit a right elbow jumper to give the visitors a 27-21 margin.
Worse for Ada, Frazier was whistled for his third foul with justover a minute to go in the half trying to block a driving Lammers shot.
Freshman guard Zac Swaney knocked down a shot in the lane to open the second half well for Ada. But NK answered with a 7-0 run to regain control.
Ethan Swaney converted a driving shot off glass, but another mini-run of six straight points advanced the Ranger lead to 41-25. Coulson stole the ball and made a running banker to cut the deficit to 14.
Andrew Poppe, a 6-3 sophomore post, then tallied two inside baskets to spark another 6-0 NK flurry and build a 20-point cushion. Frazier converted a conventional three-point play on a lane floater to get Ada within 47-39 at the end of three periods.
Frazier sank a jump hook and Coulson netted a layin off a Frazier feed to inch to 47-34 with 6:41 remaining, prompting a Ranger timeout.
NK re-established command with a pair of layups, then hit six of eight free throws to maintain a 59-42 lead. Ada's Xavier Hollinger splashed two foul shots and Frazier tallied six straight Ada points.
Frazier converted another old-fashioned three-point play inside to get within 59-45. His short shot off the backboard closed the Ada scoring moments later.
Frazier led all players with 22 points, but no other Bulldog scored more than eight. He also topped Ada with seven caroms. "Connor is playing real well of late," White noted. "We just didn't have enough other guys step up along with him."
Poppe topped well-balanced NK with 16 points on eight baskets, all from close range. Anspach and Jonah Lageman each added 10 markers.
Ada missed all 13 of their three-point tries but connected on 19 of 34 two-point field goal tries (56 percent). Overall, they connected on 19 of 47 floor shots (40 percent).
The Bulldogs were successful on nine of 11 from the foul stripe (82 percent).
NK sank 25 of 48 from the field (52 percent), including 24 for 40 on two-pointers (60 percent) and just one of eight beyond the arc (13 percent). The Rangers converted 12 of 18 foul shots (67 percent).
In a rarity, the two teams combined for just one made three-point goal.
Ada committed 18 turnovers to 17 miscues by NK.
The Bulldog junior varsity won 53-43 to improve to 6-3. Hollinger led Ada with 16 points while Kyle Zimmerly scored 15.
Ada 47 (2-9)
E. Swaney 4 0-0 8, Mullins 0 3-4 3, Frazier 9 4-5 22, Conley 0, Hall 0, Coulson 4 0-0 8, Hull 0, Conrad 1 0-0 2, Z. Swaney 1 0-0 2, Hollinger 0 2-2 2, Jordan 0, Zimmerly 0, Amburgey 0.
Totals: 19-47/9-11/47. 3-pointers (0-13): none.
NK 63 (4-5)
Bartholomew 2 1-2 5, Osborne 2 1-3 5, Lammers 3 2-4 9, Lageman 4 2-3 10, Tinnerman 4 0-0 8, Poppe 8 0-0 16, Anspach 2 6-6 10.
Totals: 25-48/12-18/63. 3-pointers (1-8): Lammers 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 10 11 9 17 47
NK 13 14 20 16 63
JV: Ada 53, NK 43.
Ada (0-5 road) visits traditional arch-rival USV (7-2) Saturday, January 13. The Rams are 3-0 at home this season, and play similar to New Knoxville, said White.
"USV is always a big game, they play well and are physical," said White. "Seven (Williams) will be able to play and I anticipate him being able to help. He can score and help out on the boards. He can take some of the pressure off Connor inside.
"It should be a good atmosphere. It will be Seven's first game at his dad's (Jason) old school. The guys should be up for it," he added.
Bulldog post Williams is a 6-7 senior transfer from Texas who had to sit out the first 11 games of the season. He previously attended Ada through eighth grade
