Ada girls story follows boys' story below -
By Cort Reynolds
NEW KNOXVILLE - Host New Knoxville held off scrappy Ada to register a hard-fought 47-44 non-conference boys basketball win Saturday night.
The Bulldog boys drop to 2-9 with the defeat, while the Rangers improved to 2-7 by snapping a four-game losing skid.
Ada led 15-12 after the first period, yet the Rangers forged ahead 29-24 by halftime. The Bulldogs won a close second half (20-18), but NK was able to hang on for the win as a last-second, desperation three-point try by Ada missed.
The Rangers outscored the purple and gold 14 to five at the charity stripe to provide the difference.
NK senior guard Jared Osborne led the Rangers with 17 points. Teammates Sammy Anspach and Patrick Covert added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Senior guard Cade Mullins and junior wing Phillip Coulson scored 14 points apiece to pace the Bulldogs.
Ada connected on 12 two-point field goal tries and five treys, with Mullins draining three trifectas. The Bulldogs were successful on five of 10 from the foul stripe (50 percent).
NK sank 15 baskets from the field, including three beyond the arc. The Rangers converted 14 of 21 foul shots (67 percent).
The Bulldog junior varsity won a two-quarter reserve game, 23-10. Tristan Conley led Ada with seven points, while Trent Ennis added five.
Ada 44 (2-9)
Mullins 5 1-2 14, Frazier 3 1-3 7, Hall 2 0-0 4, Coulson 6 1-1 14, Hull 0, Swaney 0 2-4 2, Cook 1 0-0 3.
Totals: 17/5-10/44. 3-pointers: Mullins 3, Coulson 1, Cook 1.
NK 47 (2-7)
J. Osborne 6 5-6 17, Davis 0 0-2 0, Covert 3 3-4 10, Lageman 1 1-2 3, Poppe 2 0-1 4, Anspach 3 5-6 13.
Totals: 15/14-21/47. 3-pointers: Anspach 2, Covert 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 15 9 9 11 44
NK 12 17 8 10 47
JV: Ada 23, NK 10.
Ada (2-4 home) entertains traditional arch-rival USV (7-2) Saturday, January 12. The Rams beat the Bulldogs 58-33 in the semifinals of the second annual Border Battle tournament in Ada Dec. 28 en route to the title.
Kenton wins county rivalry battle vs. Ada girls
KENTON - Host Kenton raced to a big early advantage and defeated Hardin County rival Ada 69-20 in non-conference girls basketball action Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Bulldogs drop to 1-11 with the defeat, while the Wildcats improved to 2-7 after the win.
Kenton led 18-6 after the first period, and stretched it to 37-11 by halftime. The Wildcats outscored Ada 32-9 after intermission.
"We rebounded the ball much better today but turnovers hurt, as well as not being able to score," said Bulldog first-year head coach Morgan Bass. "Kenton can shoot the ball."
Junior Sidney Plott led a balanced Kenton attack with a dozen points.
Sophomore Miranda Wills topped Ada with six points. Freshman Timber Blankenship and sophomore Alexis Waugh each contributed five points. Freshman Kirsten Poling added four markers.
Kenton canned 29 field goals, including nine three-pointers. The Wildcats converted only two of seven foul shots (29 percent).
Ada made six baskets, with no triples. The Lady Bulldogs converted eight of 12 free throws (67 percent).
Ada 20 (1-11)
Poling 2 0-0 4, Waugh 1 3-4 5, Acheson 0, Wills 2 2-4 6, Light 0, George 0, Blankenship 1 3-4 5, Phillips 0.
Totals: 6/8-12/20. 3-pointers: none.
Kenton 69 (2-7)
Plott 5 0-1 12, Holland 3 0-0 7, Bays 2 1-2 5, Hildreth 3 0-0 8, Heilman 2 0-0 4, Harpel 3 0-0 7, Tudor 4 1-2 9, Barrett 4 0-0 11, Smith 2 0-0 4, Wright 0 0-2 0.
Totals: 29/2-7/69. 3-pointers: Barrett 3, Plott 2, Hildreth 2, Bays 1, Harpel 1.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 6 5 3 6 20
Kent 18 19 12 20 69
Ada (0-6 road) visits winless Perry (0-9) Tuesday evening, January 8. The Lady Bulldogs beat the Commodores 51-37 in Ada Dec. 8, but have lost eight in a row since then.
"We are excited for Perry," said Bass. "We just have to come ready to play because we know they are going to want to beat us even more now since we got them the first time."
