By Cort Reynolds
ADA__The Ada High School boys basketball team lost to backyard rival Alen East 65-45 in a hard-fought Northwest Conference bout Friday night, January 12.
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-2 in the NWC with the defeat.
AE improved to 6-4 and 2-0 in the NWC after the rivalry win.
Quick Mustang senior point guard Carson Clum scored a game-high 20 points, played a good floor game and had several key steals.
Ada rallied within 26-21 midway through the second period. But the Mustangs reeled off nine unanswered points to seize control and build a 12-point halftime lead.
AE was never seriously threatened in the second half as their smallest lead was nine, and their biggest lead was 24.
“We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds,” said Ada third-year head coach Vince Halliday. “I have no complaints about our effort or passion. But we gave up way too many offensive rebounds and turned the ball over too much.
“We had too many live-ball turnovers,” he continued. “We committed 11 turnovers in the first half that led to 12 points.”
AE sophomore Deacon Jones drained a right corner triple to open the game. Ada sophomore Zach Zimmerman answered by splashing a trey from out top.
Clum hit a 16-footer, followed by a Logan Helser putback. The junior post then sank a bank shot midway through the opening stanza to give AE a 9-3 lead.
Kayleb Hickman stopped the 6-0 run by making a reverse layup. AE junior Ethan Yong converted an alley-oop layin. Zimmerman muscled his way into the lane for a driving basket at the one-minute mark.
Helser continued to pound the offensive glass for a layup and a 13-7 lead. Zimmerman banked in a driving shot, but Clum converted a driving three-point play.
Bulldog Carson Gossard sank an inside basket seven seconds before the first-period buzzer to bring Ada within 16-11.
Ada senior Gabe Blankenship drained a left corner triple to inch within 16-14 with 7:14 left in the half. Jones drilled a triple, and Blankenship then drained a right wing 19-footer.
Young splashed a trifecta before Zimmerman banked in a left wing trey.
After an AE layup, Blankenship made a nice spin move into the lane and splashed a 12-footer to cut the Ada deficit to 26-21 midway through the period.
But then the Mustangs spurted with nine straight points to take command. Brady Brooks canned two foul shots to start the run. The pesky Clum stole the ball and sped downcourt for a breakaway layup.
Clum then sliced through the defense for another old-fashioned three-point play and a 33-21 advantage. Jones made a southpaw layup off another Ada miscue to stretch the margin to 35-21 at the 1:25 mark.
Bulldog junior Ethan Lawrence sank a foul shot and drilled a right corner triple to cut the lead to 10. But Clum made a nice hanging drive in the lane to give AE a 37-25 halftime edge.
Zimmerman knocked down a right wing triple to get Ada within 38-28 early in the third quarter. Young canned a 15-footer, but Hickman nailed a trey from the top of the key to make it 40-31.
Clum then came up with another steal and layup to spark an 8-0 spurt. Brooks drained back-to-back triples to restore the lead to 17.
Gossard knocked down a left wing trey to cut the deficit to 48-34. Clum responded by hitting a right wing triple to give the visitors a 17-point edge after three periods.
Hickman sank a right wing trifecta to inch Ada within 52-37 with 7:11 remaining. Yet Brooks answered by nailing a trey from out top. Young followed that with a triple from almost the same spot beyond the top of the key.
Two Helser foul shots advanced the AE lead to 60-37 with 5:57 left. Ada sophomore post Slade Gossman bounced in a fast break layup to stop the 8-0 spurt at the 3:50 mark.
Three AE foul shots extended the margin to 63-39 before Zimmerman canned a bank shot. Young sank a leak-out layup, and Carson Conley splashed a long trey from beyond the top of the key to close the scoring.
AE outscored Ada 28-20 after intermission.
“We did a better job in the second half running them off the three-point line,” Halliday noted. “Ultimately, they are better than us right now, and are stronger.”
Zimmerman led Ada with 16 points. Hickman tallied eight points, and Blankenship added seven off the bench.
AE sophomore guard Brooks contributed 13 points. Junior Ethan Young tallied a dozen markers. Jones netted nine points, while Helser added eight points and 10 rebounds in a balanced effort.
The Bulldogs connected on eight two-point goals, and drilled nine triples.
“We also struggled at the foul line,” Halliday said. “We were one for six in the first half.”
Ada converted just two of its nine shots at the charity stripe (22 percent).
AE canned 16 two-pointers and drained seven treys. The Mustangs converted 12 of 17 from the free throw line (71 percent).
AE won the JV game 51-32 to drop the Ada reserves to 7-4. Caleb Lybarger led the Mustangs JV with 19 points. Gavin Oldfield topped the Bulldog reserves with seven markers.
Ada 45 (2-9, 0-3 NWC)
|
Oldfield 0 0-0 0, Zimmerman 6 1-3 16, Hickman 3 0-0 8, Dysert 0 0-0 0, Green 0 0-2 0, Blankenship 3 0-0 7, Gossard 2 0-2 5, House 0 0-0 0, Conley 1 0-0 3, Lawrence 1 1-2 4, Gossman 1 0-0 2, Griffith 0 0-0 0. Totals: 8-9/2-9/45. 3-pointers: Zimmerman 3, Hickman 2, Blankenship 1, Conley 1, Lawrence 1, Gossard 1. |
AE 65 (6-4, 2-0 NWC)
|
Young 5 0-0 12, Clum 8 3-4 20, Jones 3 2-3 9, Hensley 1 1-2 3, Helser 3 2-4 8, Brooks 3 4-4 13. Totals: 16-7/12-17/65. 3-pointers: Brooks 3, Young 2, Clum 1, Jones 1. |
SCOREBOARD
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
| ADA | 11 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 45 |
| AE | 16 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 65 |
JV: AE 51, Ada 32.
The Bulldogs visit another local traditional foe at Upper Scioto Valley (5-5) Saturday night, January 13 to conclude rivalry weekend. The Rams were idle Friday after their game vs. Ridgedale was postponed.
“We have to clean up the offensive rebounds and live-ball turnovers,” said Halliday. “USV is rock solid and relies on their two main guys, Sanders and Underwood.”
