PHOTOS by Mark Andreasen / CLICK to enlarge an view at your own pace

By Cort Reynolds

ADA – On a very windy day, the Ada High School boys basketball team blew away visiting Hardin County rival Ridgemont 61-30 to tip its season off strongly on Wednesday, November 26.

The Bulldogs raced to an early 18-point lead and were never threatened.

Ada starts off 1-0 with the resounding victory, while the Gophers begin 0-1 with the opening non-league loss.

“We got off to a good start and never let up,” said veteran Ada head coach Chris Sautter. “We guarded really well. We got contributions from everybody, led by Zack with 20 points.”

Bulldog senior Gavin Oldfield sank a putback for the first basket of the season. Senior Zack Zimmerman made two foul shots, followed by a steal and layup from senior Kayleb Hickman for a 6-0 lead.

Zimmerman powered in for a basket, and Ridgemont’s Kody Kiser canned a triple to make it 8-3. Hickman made a driving shot, then drained a trifecta at the 2:59 mark to provide a 13-3 lead.

Zimmerman laid it a shot off a Carson Conley drive and dish. Junior Blake Zoladz stole the ball and converted a driving layup to make it 17-3. Zimmerman sank a bank shot.

Zoladz canned a stickback just before the buzzer to make it 21-3 after the first period. Ada ended the quarter on a 13-0 run.

Zimmerman extended the spurt with a basket to open the second stanza. A Gopher foul shot stopped the flurry, then added a steal and layup for a conventional three-point play to cut the deficit to 25-7.

Ada junior Andrew Allen scored inside off a Hickman feed. Zoladz split two foul shots. Conley made a bucket, and they stretched the margin to 32-9 with another field goal.

Allen slashed a corner triple, followed by a three-point play by Harrison Reppart to make it 35-13 at intermission.

Hickman opened the second half with a field goal. Zimmerman made a deuce and a triple, followed by a Zoladz hoop.

Mason Howard canned a putback for the Gophers. Hickman scored again to prompt a Gopher timeout at the 5:17 mark with Ada on top 46-15.

Two Dawson Manns free throws were answered on a cutting layin by Oldfield. Zoladz stole the ball and scored on a layup to provide a 50-17 margin.

Mihaljo Djordjevic completed a putback three-point play, followed by a Conley bucket. Two more Manns free throws cut it to 53-22. Junior Conley canned a driving shot for a 33-point lead with 55 ticks left in the third stanza.

Zimmerman sank a pair of free throws to balloon the lead to 57-22 after three quarters. The 22 points Ada scored in the third equaled the Gopher total over the first 24 minutes. 

Manns made a basket off a loose ball to open the final period with a running clock. Conley sank a baseline pull-up shot.

Ada was called for a defensive goaltend after slapping the backboard, followed by two Zimmerman charity stripers. 

Cadyn Hamilton sank a fast-break layup for the visitors. Reppart finished inside to cut the final margin to 31.

Zimmerman led all scorers with 20 points. Hickman contributed 13 markers to the balanced Ada attack. Conley tallied 10 points, and Zoladz added seven. Oldfield chipped in with six points, and Allen added five.

Manns topped Ridgemont with nine markers as no Gopher hit double figures.

The Bulldogs sank 22 two-pointers and drained three triples. Ada converted eight of 12 from the charity stripe (67 percent).

The Gophers canned nine deuces and one triple. They sank nine of 11 at the foul line (82 percent).

Ada hosts Fort Jennings (0-0) on Saturday, November 29. The Musketeers visit Arlington on Friday in their opener.

Ada 61 (1-0)

Hickman 6 0-2 13, Zoladz 3 1-3 7, Dysert 0 0-0 0, Conley 5 0-0 10, Oldfield 3 0-0 6, Zimmerman 6 7-7 20, McKean 0 0-0 0, Griffith 0 0-0 0, Allen 2 0-0 5, Stauffer 0 0-0 0.

Totals: 22-3/8-12/61. 3-pointers: Zimmerman 1, Hickman 1, Allen 1. 

Ridgemont 30 (0-1)

Hamilton 1 0-0 2, Kiser 1 0-0 3, Purnell 1 0-0 2, Djordjevic 2 2-2 6, Howard 1 0-1 2, Weaver 0 0-0 0, Manns 2 5-5 9, Reppart 2 1-2 5.

Totals: 9-1/9-11/30. 3-pointer: Kiser 1.

1 2 3 4 F

Ada 21 14 22 4 61

Rmnt 3 10 9 8 30

JV: Ada 40, Ridgemont 24.

◾️