By Cort Reynolds
WAYNESFIELD__Waynesfield-Goshen rode a hot-shooting second period to a convincing 69-55 victory over the youthful Ada High School boys basketball team Thursday, December 28, in the nightcap of a girls-boys doubleheader.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| ADA | 12 | 7 | 15 | 21 | 55 |
| W-G | 16 | 24 | 15 | 14 | 69 |
W-G junior guard Levi Glick poured in 22 of his game-high 32 points in the first half to pace the Tigers to victory.
Waynesfield broke away from a close game to take control with a 24-7 second period, and never was seriously threatened.
The Tigers improved to 1-6 with their first win. The young Bulldogs fell to 1-7 after the loss.
“We had no answer for Glick,” said Ada third-year head coach Vince Halliday. “Obviously we started very poorly defensively and could never recover.”
“It was nice to get that first win out of the way,” said W-G first-year head coach Brad Clum. “It was a big game, a must win for us.
“It was a matter of time before Levi broke loose,” he continued. “He is very good offensively. A lot of our offense is created off our defense.”
Ada sophomore Zach Zimmerman hit a triple and a deuce to open the game and help the visitors stay within 10-8.
Glick sank a trey, but Bulldog freshman point guard Kolton Dysert nailed a one-footed runner from 12 feet to give Ada a 12-11 edge.
Landin DeWitt split two foul shots to give W-G a 13-12 edge, and Glick sank a long right wing trey just before the first-period horn to give the hosts a 16-12 lead.
Jay Carter scored inside after a Carson Gossard foul shot to make it 20-13. Three baskets in a row by Glick pushed the Tigers ahead 26-15 at the 5:09 mark. Dalton Jordan hit a shot and DeWitt scored in transition for a 30-17 lead.
Glick swished a pull-up 16-footer, answered by a Kayleb Hickman basket. Glick nailed a left wing trifecta to build a 16-point lead 30 seconds before the half.
Glick then completed a conventional three-point play to double up Ada 38-19 at the 22.3-second mark.
DeWitt banked in a 10-footer just before the buzzer to give W-G a 40-19 lead at the half. W-G outscored Ada 24-7 in the decisive second stanza.
Workhorse sophomore post Slade Gossman and Hickman scored early second half hoops, followed by a Dysert basket, to inch Ada within 42-25.
A conventional three-point driving banker by Glick made it 49-32. Baskets by Carson Barnes and DeWitt stretched the margin to 55-34 after three periods.
Two Zimmerman foul shots and a spinning Gossman layup cut the Ada deficit to 55-38 a minute into the final quarter. Zimmerman made a transition layup.
A Gossman putback was answered by two DeWitt foul shots at the five-minute mark. Jordan made a fast break layup off a nice Glick outlet pass.
Spunky Dysert scored off a loose ball scrum with 2:32 left to make it 63-48. Glick was fouled and split a pair at the line. Bulldog Gabe Blankenship sank a putback, and Gavin Oldfield canned two foul shots to cut the lead to 13.
Glick scored on a press-breaker and made two foul shots to restore the lead to 17. Gossman scored inside with 36.3 ticks to go, and Zimmerman netted a putback just before the final buzzer.
“In the second half we had our moments, but could never get it to 10,” Halliday noted.
“We have to be able to finish games better, we got a little sloppy at the end,” Clum noted.
Zimmerman led Ada with a season-high 19 points. Dysert tallied 10 points, and Gossman added eight markers.
Jordan supported Glick with 16 points, while DeWitt added nine.
The purple and gold connected on 19 two-point goals and they drilled two triples.
Ada converted 11 of 18 shots at the charity stripe (61 percent).
W-G canned 23 two-pointers and three treys, all by Glick. The host Tigers converted 14 of 27 from the free throw line (52 percent).
Ada won the JV game 50-42 to improve to 6-2. The Bulldogs built a big lead, then staved off a Tiger rally to win by eight. T.J. Griffith led the Bulldog reserves with 18 points.
Ada 55 (1-7)
Oldfield 0 2-2 2, Zimmerman 7 3-4 19, Hickman 2 0-0 4, Conley 0 1-2 1, Dysert 4 2-2 10, Green 1 0-0 2, Blankenship 1 0-0 2, Gossard 1 1-2 3, House 20-0 4, Lawrence 0 0-0 0, Gossman 3 2-4 8. Totals: 19-2/11-18/55. 3-pointers: Zimmerman 2, Dysert
W-G 69 (1-6)
Kaufman 1 1-3 3, Glick 11 7-10 32, Jordan 7 2-4 16, DeWitt 3 3-4 9, Barnes 2 1-4 5, Hardin 0, Carter 1 0-0 2, Morse 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23-3/14-27/69. 3-pointers: Glick 3.
1 2 3 4 F
Ada 12 7 15 21 55
W-G 16 24 15 14 69
JV: Ada 50, W-G 42.
Ada (0-5 home) hosts Arcadia (2-5) January 2. The Bulldogs (0-1 NWC) then visit league rival Bluffton (4-1, 1-0 NWC) Friday, January 5.
