Play #1 Marion Local in district final on Friday

By Cort Reynolds

FINDLAY__Ada senior Zack Zimmerman sank a driving bank shot with eight seconds left to lift the Bulldog boys basketball team to a thrilling 48-47 win over backyard rival Allen East in Div. VI district semifinal action on Wednesday, March 4 at Liberty-Benton.

The Bulldogs got the last shot in as the fierce foes traded the lead five times in the final minutes of the seesaw battle. 

Both squads missed multiple critical foul shots in the waning seconds of the pressure-packed contest. But Ada was also able to get some crucial late offensive rebounds and force two big turnovers to retain possession and win in the end.

The Bulldogs improved to 17-7 with the one-point triumph.

Ada advanced to the district finals vs. top seed Marion Local (22-1) at Wapakoneta on Friday, March 6 with the hard-earned victory. 

Ranked first in the state in Div. VI, ML got a first-round bye and survived an upset bid by tough Midwest Athletic Conference foe New Bremen 43-41 Tuesday night.

AE ends its season 14-10 after the tough defeat. 

“The kids played hard, it was a battle for 32 minutes,” said 16th-year Ada head coach Chris Sautter. “We battled through foul trouble, but got great contributions off the bench. Zack had a big night.

”He flashed across the lane, got the ball around the elbow, drove to the basket and scored off the glass,” he noted of the game-winning shot.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-4 lead capped by a Zimmerman fast break layup, which prompted an AE timeout.

Carson Conley, Gavin Oldfield and Blake Zoladz also sank early field goals to spearhead the quick Bulldog start as Ada led 14-9 after the first period. Consecutive driving baskets by senior wing Kayleb Hickman extended the lead to 19-9 early in the second quarter. 

AE junior guard Keagan Jones then splashed a triple to make it 19-12 midway through the stanza. After a Zimmerman basket, Ada junior Andrew Allen responded by nailing a trifecta to double AE at 24-12. 

Senior Mustang guard Brady Brooks coaxed a driving shot to roll in and cut the lead to 10. Conley and Deacon Jones traded driving layups to keep Ada ahead at halftime, 26-17.

Zimmerman canned a floater to start the second half. A Zimmerman putback sandwiched amid three AE turnovers extended the lead to 30-18, tying biggest Ada margin of the game. The Mustangs then started to rally.

Brady Brooks grabbed an offensive rebound and completed a three-point play to pull AE within nine.

Conley split two foul shots, followed by a trey from the top of the key by Keagan Jones. AE blocked a shot, leading to a Brooks driving transition bucket to inch within 31-26.

Zimmerman scored inside to restore the lead to seven. Deacon Jones missed a foul shot, and then a costly lane violation made AE come up scoreless in that key trip to the line.

Connor McKean got an offensive rebound, was fouled and canned a foul shot. Deacon Jones drove for a basket, but Allen then drew a charging foul on him.

Braxston Montgomery completed a fast break finger roll, and Zimmerman answered with a driving shot. Camden Smith sank a basket to edge the Mustangs within 37-32. Ada turned the ball over with four seconds left, and a long AE trey went awry at the horn.

Keagan Jones drilled a foul line jumper to open the final quarter. Brooks netted a transition drive to edge AE within 37-36. Hickman tallied a layup, and Smith’s quick triple try to tie it rattled out.

Keagan Jones then tied it with a triple and after a steal, Brooks missed a trey. But the Mustangs rebounded and AE took its first lead at 41-39 on a cutting basket by Deacon Jones at the 3:35 mark.

Zimmerman split two free throws, and Smith drove for a basket to put AE ahead 43-40 with 3:07 to go. Zimmerman sank a bank shot and Brooks canned a pair of charity stripers at the 2:28 mark.

Zimmerman again drew a foul and sank both shots at the 2:05 juncture. AE ran off about 40 seconds but Ada trapped the ball and Conley stole it, leading to a bucket by senior Oldfield that put them back in front 46-45.

Another AE miscue gave the Bulldogs possession and the lead with 52 seconds remaining. Conley was fouled at the 37-second mark, yet he missed both free shots. 

Sophomore Smith sank a putback and drew a foul with 21 ticks left to put AE back on top, 47-46. But he missed the free toss and AE committed a foul. Zoladz missed both charity stripers, however the Mustangs knocked the ball out of bounds.

Their inability to control the defensive rebound off the second miss proved lethal. Ada got one more chance to go ahead and capitalized on it.

Zimmerman scored with five seconds left on a short driving bank shot. AE did not call timeout. Mustang guard Deacon Jones missed a triple at the buzzer as Ada held on for the one-point win.

Senior Zimmerman led all players with 21 points. Fifteen of his clutch points came in the second half. Hickman netted seven points.

Bulldog senior Oldfield contributed six points. Conley also tallied six and junior guard Zoladz chipped in with four.

AE was led by senior guard Brooks with 15 points, while Keagan Jones tallied 11.

The 17 victories are the most by Ada in a season since their state final four run season in 2009. AE had won nine of the last 10 meetings between the rivals coming, including their only prior tournament meeting in 2017.

The Bulldogs had lost their last two games vs. rival AE in overtime, and now the last three rivalry meetings have gone down to the final seconds.

The Bulldogs connected on 19 two-point goals and drained only one trifecta. Ada converted seven of 13 free throws (54 percent), but missed their last four tries.

AE canned 15 deuces and knocked down three treys. The Mustangs sank eight of 15 foul shots (53 percent).    

Ada is riding a five-game win streak going into the district final showdown vs. the Flyers. They held AE six points below their 53 ppg average.

“It is going to take a huge effort Friday night to take down Marion Local,” Sautter said. “They are big, physical and well-coached. They won’t beat themselves. We are going to have to play very well, but we are excited for the opportunity.”

Ada 48 (17-7)

Oldfield 3 0-0 6, A. Brown 0 0-0 0, Stauffer 0 0-0 0, Zoladz 2 0-2 4, Zimmerman 9 3-4 21, Conley 2 2-4 6, Allen 1 0-0 3, McKean 0 1-2 1, Hickman 3 1-1 7. 

Totals: 19-1/7-13/48. 3-pointers: Allen 1.

AE 47 (14-10)

D. Jones 3 0-2 6, Hershberger 0 0-0 0, K. Jones 4 3-6 14, Brooks 6 3-4 15, Stanley 1 2-2 4, Smith 3 0-1 6, Montgomery 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 15-3/8-15/47. 3-pointers (3-15): K. Jones 3.