By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting Lincolnview forged a 19-4 run bridging the middle quarters to defeat Ada 53-39 in Northwest Conference boys basketball action Friday night.
The the Bulldogs drop to 4-15 overall and 2-4 in the NWC with the defeat. Meanwhile, the Lancers improve to 12-7 and 6-1 in league play after the victory.
The victory kept the second-place Lancers a half-game behind league-leading rival Crestview (6-0 NWC), which rallied to beat Paulding Friday night.
Senior Jackson Conrad sank a layup to start the Ada scoring, but the Lancers raced to a 16-6 lead after one period of play as senior guard Chayten Overholt drained three treys and 11 points.
Lincolnview extended the lead to 23-8 early in the second period on a fourth trifecta by the hot-shooting Overholt.
But the Lancers then went scoreless for six minutes against the Bulldog zone, while Ada reeled off 12 unanswered points to get back in contention.
Bulldog 6-7 senior post Seven Williams scored inside on consecutive assists from freshman guard Brandon Hull to cut the deficit to 23-12.
Two Connor Frazier foul shots and a layup by Williams off an Ethan Swaney lob pulled Ada within five. Swaney then nailed a one-handed runner from the left elbow to get the purple and gold within 23-20 at the 1:11 mark.
"Credit Ada, they did a good job of getting the ball down low where Williams hurt us during our cold stretch," Lancer coach Brett Hammons noted.
But then the tenor of the game changed dramatically.
Lancer junior Zane Miller swished a crucial right corner trey with 46 seconds to go in the half, ending their long drought. Overholt supplied the dagger when he drained a left corner triple with just a second left to reverse the Ada momentum and give Lincolnview a 29-20 lead at the half.
"Those were backbreakers; we had mental lapses on the two three's at the end of the half," agreed Ada second-year head coach Dre White. "You have to be committed in those type of big-time situations.
"We came out flat at the start and could have folded, but I am proud of how we responded," he continued. "We cut it to 23-20, and then those two huge three's proved costly."
"We got off to a great start as Chayten hit several three's," said Hammons. "We went cold and then Zane and Overholt hit those big three's right before the half. It was good to end the half on a positive note."
The Lancers carried their new-found momentum over into the second half, starting the third quarter with an 11-4 spurt, and were never threatened thereafter.
Overholt led all scorers with 22 points, 19 of which came in the first half. Lincolnview nailed a strong nine of 20 beyond the arc as Overholt canned six of his 10 three-point tries.
"Overholt is a great player and he made some big-time shots," White offered. "You have to give him credit for knocking down the shots."
A layup by Bulldog senior wing Seth Conley pulled the hosts within 29-22 early in half two. Miller then buried a foul line shot, followed by a Williams layup that made it 31-24.
The Lancers then ran off 11 consecutive points to seize control. Caden Ringwald started it by nailing a trey. Miller converted consecutive Ada turnovers into transition baskets.
"Our pressure gave them some problems and we were able to get some easy baskets in transition, which gave us more confidence," said Hammons.
Miller then flashed into the soft spot of the Ada zone, turned and drilled a 14-footer to give the Lancers a 40-24 cushion midway through the third quarter.
"Zane hit some big baskets there and gave us a big boost," noted Hammons.
Lancer guard Logan Williams splashed two 19-footers to help the Lancers maintain their bulge. Yet Swaney sank a short banker, Conley bounced in a right baseline shot, and Phillip Coulson nailed a basket to cut the lead to 44-30 at the 1:44 mark.
Lancer Ethan Kemler netted a fast break layup to provide the visitors a 46-30 margin heading to the final period.
Overholt drained a left wing triple to open the fourth period. Ringwald sank a fast break layin off a nice Overholt bounce pass, and Tristin Miller hit a layup to extend the lead to 23, the Lancers' biggest of the night.
Ada then ran off the last nine points of the contest over the final 3:32 to win the period 9-7 and cut the ultimate margin to 14.
Sophomore wing Coulson drained a high-arching right wing triple to start the finishing flurry. Hull sank a putback layin, and Conley split a pair at the charity stripe.
Junior guard Cade Mullins splashed a trifecta to close the scoring with 1:33 remaining.
"We took their best shot and responded," Hammons noted. "I thought we defended well down low in the second half, our defensive rotations were better. It is always tough to come over here in this environment and win."
Ada found the range on 14 of 26 two-point field goal tries (54 percent), but they splashed only two of 12 three-point attempts (17 percent). Overall, the hosts connected on 16 of 38 floor shots (42 percent).
The Bulldogs converted five of 10 from the foul line (50 percent).
Lincolnview committed just eight turnovers while Ada was guilty of 19 costly errors, six in the first period.
"We have to grow up and handle pressure better," said White. "Nineteen turnovers is way too many. You're not going to beat a good team like Lincolnview like that; it isn't a recipe for success.
"We also have to knock down some outside shots to keep defenses from packing it in on our bigs," added White.
Lincolnview sank 21 field goals, including nine of 20 beyond the arc (45 percent). The Lancers also canned both of their mere two shots from the foul line.
The Bulldogs out-rebounded the Lancers, 30-17. Williams led Ada with 14 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Williams tallied 12 of his points in the first half.
"Seven had a great game," White noted. "It is good to see him relax and play well. We rode our zone the entire game, I thought we had bad man-to-man matchups against them. Connor caused Lincolnview some problems at the top of the zone defensively."
Zane Miller supported Overholt with 11 critical points. All of his points came during a five-minute span late in the first half and over the first four minutes of period three.
Lincolnview also defeated the Bulldog junior varsity, 56-41. Freshman guard Brandon Hull topped the Ada reserves (10-7) with a dozen markers.
Ada 39 (4-15, 2-4 NWC)
E. Swaney 2 0-0 4, Frazier 0 2-2 2, Coulson 2 0-0 5, Conley 2 1-4 5, Williams 6 2-2 14, Hollinger 0, Z. Swaney 0, Conrad 1 0-0 2, Mullins 1 0-0 3, Hall 0, Hull 2 0-2 4.
Totals: 16-38/5-10/39. 3-pointers (2-12): Coulson 1, Mullins 1.
L'view 53 (12-7, 6-1 NWC)
Ringwald 3 2-2 9, Williams 2 0-0 4, Kemler 1 0-0 2, Overholt 8 0-0 22, T. Miller 2 0-0 5, Z. Miller 5 0-0 11.
Totals: 21/2-2/53. 3-pointers (9-20): Overholt 6, Z. Miller 1, T. Miller 1, Ringwald 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 6 14 10 9 39
Lview 16 13 17 7 53
JV: L'view 56, Ada 41.
Ada (3-6 home) entertains league foe Columbus Grove (8-11, 3-3 NWC) Friday evening, February 16 in their home finale.
"I am looking forward to playing Grove, it would be great to finish up the home season with a win," said White. "We need Seven to continue to play well, and to take care of the ball better."
Ada then visits solid Lima Temple Christian (10-8) in a non-league contest next Saturday, Feb. 17.
Lincolnview plays at Paulding (8-9, 4-2 NWC) next Friday in the Lancer NWC finale. Lincolnview must win to have a chance at the conference crown. The Panthers lost 70-54 to NWC leader Crestview Friday.
