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Ada boys whip Tigers to take third in Border Battle

By Cort Reynolds

ADA - Tournament host Ada played its best game of the year to defeat Waynesfield-Goshen 61-44 in the consolation round of the second annual boys Border Battle tournament Saturday afternoon.  

The purple and gold improved to 2-8 with the solid third-place victory, while the Tigers dropped to 1-8 with the defeat.  

"I thought we played well other than the second quarter," said Ada third-year head coach Dre White. "The third quarter was good, especially with us struggling offensively - we got 20 points.

"Phil stepped up and had another big game," he continued. "Everyone played their role well. Swaney gave us a spark off the bench in the third, Cade did a good job defensively on Campbell and Connor controlled the lane.

"Ethan Hall did a phenomenal job on the boards and Brandon had close to double-digit assists," he added.  

Slick-passing sophomore playmaker Brandon Hull put Ada in front first with a driving layup to start the game. Hull then assisted junior Phillip Coulson on a fast break layin for a 4-2 edge.

W-G tied it on Jordan Elliott's baseline-driving flip shot. Coulson netted another layin off a good Hull bounce pass, and Cade Mullins sank a pull-up bank shot for a 10-6 edge.

Sophomore Micah Cook drained a right corner trifecta at the first period buzzer to extend the lead to 13-6.

Waynesfield's Wolke hit a left baseline mid-range shot to end a long scoreless drought, but Mullins answered quickly by knocking down a field goal. Tiger Hyatt Kaufman sank a turnaround jumper in the lane.

Two Coulson foul shots at the 5:05 mark gave Ada a 17-10 advantage. W-G guard Layton Campbell sank a layin off an in-bounds pass, and Elliott canned a lane shot.

Coulson responded by swishing a left corner triple to put Ada in front, 20-14. He then knocked down a foul shot and a left-handed reverse layup in transition for a nine-point bulge.

Tiger reserve Dustin Plummer splashed a left side trey and two Leevi Hunter foul shots cut the deficit to 23-19 at the 1:59 mark.

Ada senior Mullins drove the left bseline for a layup with 1:15 left in the half. Hull was fouled on a drive and split two foul shots.

Kaufman sank a double-pump layup off a nice lookaway jump pass from Campbell to slice the Bulldog lead to 26-21 at intermission.

Kaufman made a fast break layup to start the second half, followed by a short baseline stickback shot from Bulldog senior post Ethan Hall.

Andrews canned a short bank shot, yet Coulson sank a perimeter shot and a left side trey for a 33-25 lead. Soph guard Zac Swaney rolled in a 10-footer to give Ada its biggest lead.

Elliott hit a basket but Swaney convertd two foul shots. Evan Miller drained a left wing triple followed by a Swaney right baseline shot. Hunter tallied an inside shot to edge the visitors within 39-32.

Swaney then converted a driving shot for his eighth point of the quarter. Coulson came up with a loose ball near midcourt, then drove in for a layup and a 43-32 cushion with 1:59 left in the third.

Kaufman split a pair at the charity stripe but Coulson canned a short turnaround jumper. Hull made a free toss and Miller converted a putback inside to inch the Tigers within 46-35 after three quarters.

Andrews sank a leaning layup to open the fourth period scoring. Coulson picked up his fourth foul and had to sit with six minutes remaining.

But Swaney drilled a short bank shot in transition to put Ada back on top by 11 with 5:32 left. Frazier split two foul shots and then fired a nice diagonal pass to Hall for a layup at the 4:22 mark.

Campbell converted two free throws yet Frazier scored inside off a nice Hull dish. Kaufman swished a short shot and Frazier made  power layup off the ensuing press-breaker. Campbell hit a basket with 1:13 left to cut the deficit to 55-43.

However, Frazier muscled in for another layup after grabbing a fullcourt pass over the Tiger press from quarterback Coulson. Hull then converted a pair at the stripe.

Ty Miller sank a stickback layup to finish the scoring and provide the 17-point margin of victory.

"We got good minutes off the bench," White observed. "Everyone contributed well."

Coulson topped Ada with 21 points. Swaney scored all 10 of his points in the second half. Frazier added seven points and three blocked shots. Mullins netted eight markers and turned in a good defensive job on Campbell.

"Campbell came in averaging around 20 points per game and Cade did a nice job guarding him," said White. Kaufman led the Tigers with nine points while Campbell added eight.

The Bulldogs out-rebounded W-G 38-32 as Hall pulled down a team-high nine boards and Miller added eight caroms.

Ada drained three of 11 triples and sank 20 of 36 two-point field goal tries, shooting a combined 23 for 47 from the field (49 percent). The Bulldogs were successful on 12 of 22 attempts at the charity stripe (55 percent).

W-G canned 18 field goals in 50 tries (36 percent), including two of 12 on treys and 16 for 38 inside the arc. They converted six of 12 foul shots (50 percent).

Ada committed 14 turnovers compared to 17 errors by the Tigers.

 

Ada 61 (2-8)

Mullins 3 2-4 8, Frazier 3 1-2 7, Hall 2 0-0 4, Coulson 8 3-5 21, Hull 1 4-8 6, Swaney 4 2-3 10, Miller 1 0-0 2, Cook 1 0-0 3, Paul 0.

Totals: 23-47/12-22/61. 3-pointers (3-11): Coulson 2, Cook 1.

 

W-G 44 (1-8)

Elliott 3 0-0 6, Miller 2 0-1 5, Campbell 3 2-4 8, Wolke 1 0-0 2, Hunter 1 2-2 4, Kaufman 4 1-2 9, Andrews 3 0-1 6, Plummer 1 0-0 3, Barnes 0 1-2 1.

Totals: 18-50/6-12/44. 3-pointers (2-12) Miller 1, Plummer 1.

 

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 13 13 20 15 61

W-G 6 15 14 9 44

No JV game.

 

After a busy Christms break, Ada (0-4 road) is idle until they visit New Knoxville Saturday, January 5.

"They will be physical as always," said White of the Rangers.

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