By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Visiting Waynesfield-Goshen built an 18-point second half lead and held off an Ada rally to win a non-conference boys basketball makeup contest 45-35 Wednesday night.

W-G broke open a 26-17 halftime lead with a 9-0 run to start the second half. Ada managed to slice the deficit to 41-35 with 2:19 remaining to play, but could get no closer.

The Bulldogs dropped to 2-13 overall with the defeat. W-G improved to 3-12     with the win. 

"We didn't come to compete from about the mid-first quarter to mid-third quarter," noted Ada head coach Jon Cook. "We didn't run our five first scripted plays well.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "Waynesfield came in right away and set the tone," he continued. "For two teams with the same record, they played like the more desperate team."   

Waynesfield jumped to a 5-0 lead and never trailed. They extended the advantage to 11-2 after three straight layups, prompting a Bulldog timeout.

Senior Tristan Conley scored three Ada points and Micah Cook sank a bank shot to make it 13-5 after the first period.

Ada edged within 18-13 after three Cook foul shots and a transition layup by senior guard Jacob Poling.

Bulldog senior Danny Thompson hustled downcourt and followed in a missed fast break shot shortly before halftime.

But Tiger triples by Jayden Elliott and Blake Barnes allowed the visitors to maintain a 26-17 edge at intermission.

The Tigers then came out of the locker room with a decisive 9-0 flurry to construct that big 18-point cushion. Barnes sana  corner triple to lead the splurge. 

A putback layin by Spencer Wall ended the run, but by then Ada trailed 35-19.

The Bulldogs finally got hot as sophomore Ethan Murphy sank two trifectas and a pair of free throws to spearhead an 18-6 charge. Cook also splashed a long trey in the run.

A Trent Ennis foul shot sliced the margin to 41-35 with 2:19 left. 

But Ada committed some costly turnovers and did not score again. W-G converted four straight foul shots over the last 50 seconds to stretch the final margin to 10.

"Tonight was disappointing," Cook summed up. "We were not particularly competitive for two and a half quarters."

Cook led Ada with 13 points. Murphy added nine markers. 

"We got some valuable minutes for our sophomores," Cook noted. "Ethan Murphy gave us some good minutes, and Spencer Wall continues to grow."

Barnes led a balanced Tiger attack with 11 points. Kaufman netted 10 and Campbell added eight.

Ada played without injured junior starter Cayden Murphy. 

The Bulldogs connected on 10 total field goals. They canned     seven baskets inside the arc, and sank     three shots from three-point territory.     

Ada converted 12 of 17 attempts from the charity stripe (71 percent).

The Tigers sank 16 total baskets. They canned four shots from three-point land, and sank    12 two-point field goals. 

Waynesfield converted nine of 15 free throw tries (60 percent) from the foul line.     
The Bulldogs are now 2-6 at home after the loss. The matchup was scheduled as a makeup game Monday at W-G, but was moved to Ada.

The Bulldogs won the junior varsity contest easily 51-25 to improve to 6-7. Carter Conley led the Ada reserves with 18 points. Jacob Sutherly and Casen Jones each tallied nine points.

Ada 35 (2-13)
Thompson 1 1-2 3, Ennis 0 1-2 1, Cook 3 6-7 13, Wall 1 0-0 2, T. Conley 1 1-2 3, Poling 2 0-0 4, E. Murphy 2 3-4 9.
Totals: 7-3/12-17/35. 3-pointers: E. Murphy 2, Cook 1.   

W-G 45 (3-12)
Daniel 2 2-5 6, Nanchoff 0, Campbell 3 2-2 8, Barnes 3 2-2 11, Kaufman 5 0-0 10, Elliott 2 1-4 6, Craig 1 2-2 4. 
Totals: 12-4/9-15/45. 3-pointers: Barnes 3, Elliott 1.

    1    2    3    4    F
Ada    5    12    10    8    35
W-G    13    13    13    6    45
JV: Ada 51, W-G 25.

The Bulldogs (0-3 NWC) host Spencerville (6-11, 2-3 NWC) in a conference contest Friday Feb. 5. The Bearcats have won four of their last five games after a slow start against rugged competition.

"Spencerville played a tough early-season schedule," said Cook. "They have a young man (Henline) who is scoring a lot. They execute well vs. man and zone defenses. They are really good defensively.

"Thye have no real weak link; they have shotmakers, people who can get the ball off the glass, everyone can catch and pass," he continued. "Spencerville is playing its best basketball right now."

Ada will then play a makeup league game at backyard rival Allen East (8-8, 1-4 NWC) Tuesday, Feb. 9. AE started out 4-0 but has lost its last four outings.

Murphy will also miss Friday's game but might be back for the AE contest.

The Paulding at Ada boys league game set for January 29 was postponed due to covid concerns with the Panther team. The makeup date has been set for Saturday, Feb. 13 with the freshman game at 4 p.m., followed by the JV and varsity bouts.

"Until the season ends we are just trying to keep getting better," said Cook. "The physical way the game was played (against Waynesfield) should be good preparation for our next few games.

"Hopefully we can get Cayden Murphy back for the stretch run."

Sectional drawing will be held this weekend.