Visiting Columbus Grove team ran out to a 21-0 lead and easily defeated Ada 74-24 in the Northwest Conference boys basketball opener Friday night, December 10.

Ada fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in the NWC with the loss. CG improved to 3-1 and 1-0 in the league with the victory.

"We didn't handle their press well, but we had handled pressure the first three games," said new Ada head coach Vince Halliday. "We didn't dribble or come to meet passes, and it was all she wrote early. It snowballed quickly."

CG sophomore Bo Birnesser buried three early trifectas to spearhead a 14-0 start. Six points by senior Trey Sautter made it 21-0 before Ada scored on an eight-foot banker by Cayden Murphy at the 1:30 mark.

Grove extended the lead to 28-2 after the first period.

Former Ada head coach Chris Sautter was pleased with CG's effort. "We got off to a good start; we have some length and this court is smaller than ours, so it is easier to press," he explained.

Murphy netted a layup for the second Ada basket at the 6:15 mark of the second stanza. Junior Carter Conley sank a putback to cut the deficit to 34-6.

But CG ended the half on a 16-0 flurry to extend the lead to 50-6 at intermission.

Conley hit two foul shots and a layin stickback for Ada in the third period as the running clock was enacted. CG advanced its lead to 66-10 heading to the final period.

Ada junior Jacob Sutherly and Conley each drained right wing triples for the hosts in the fourth quarter. Spencer Wall sank a bank shot, followed by a driving layin from Sutherly.

Ashton Cowan canned a short baseline shot, and Jaden Leal made a layup to help Ada win the final period by a 14-8 count.

"Grove played well and they came ready to play," said Halliday. "We also allowed them to play well, too."

Sautter led five CG players in double figures with 17 points. Noah Macke netted 13 points while Birnesser and Jackson Schroeder added a dozen points apiece. 

Conley paced Ada with nine points. 

Ada canned 10 baskets, including eight two-pointers and two triples. The Bulldogs converted both of their free throw attempts (100 percent).

CG drained 28 baskets, connecting on 19 two-pointers and nine treys. They hit nine of 16 free throw attempts (56 percent).

Grove also won the JV game, 47-15. Gage Hoffer led the purple and gold reserves with eight points.

Ada 24 (2-2, 0-1 NWC)

C. Murphy 2 0-0 4, Leal 1 0-0 2, Wall 1 0-0 2, Conley 3 2-2 9, Preston 0, E. Murphy 0, Cowan 1 0-0 2, Hoffer 0.

Totals: 8-2/2-2/24. 3-pointer: Conley 1, Sutherly 1.

CG 74 (3-1, 1-0 NWC)

Birnesser 4 0-0 12, Reynolds 2 2-4 6, Macke 4 2-4 13, T. Sautter 7 2-3 17, Schroeder 4 3-3 12, Koch 5 0-1 10, Bellman 2 0-0 4.

Totals: 19-9/9-16/74. 3-pointers: Birnesser 4, Macke 3, Sautter 1, Schroeder 1.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 2 4 4 14 24

CG 28 22 16 8 74

JV: CG 47, Ada 15.

Ada (1-2 home) entertains tough Perry (4-1) Saturday, Dec. 11. "Perry will bring more pressure than Grove," Halliday warned. "We can't play with a passive mindset."

The Commodores beat Marion Elgin 54-38 Friday night.