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

By Cort Reynolds

ADA __The Ada boys basketball team started strong and rode a big second quarter to crush non-conference foe Elgin 68-21 on Saturday afternoon, December 27.

Ada jumped to a 16-5 lead after the first period. The Bulldogs authored a 28-9 second quarter outburst to build a commanding 44-14 cushion at halftime.

Ada also won the second half handily, 24-7.

“The kids played well,” said Bulldog head coach Chris Sautter. “We forced over 20 turnovers, and had 24 transition points. ”We guarded well and got balanced scoring,” he added.

Ada improved to 7-2 overall and with the blowout win. Elgin dropped to 1-8 after the lopsided loss.

Bulldog senior Zack Zimmerman tallied 14 of his 16 points in the first half. He netted eight markers in the decisive second period, while Andrew Allen added seven to power Ada to a 28-point quarter.

Senior Kayleb Hickman tallied eight of his 11 points in the first half, and he added a triple in the third stanza. Junior Blake Zoladz scored all eight of his points in the third quarter.

Bulldog junior Carson Conley netted 11 markers. Junior guard Allen also ended up with a season-high 11 markers. Senior Gavin Oldfield scored six points.

The Bulldogs connected on 25 two-point goals and drained three triples. Ada converted nine of 12 throws (75 percent).

Elgin canned five deuces and nailed two treys. The Comets sank five of eight foul shots (63 percent).

Ada improved to 6-1 at home with the win.

The Bulldogs (3-0 BVC, 1-1 road) resume league play at Arcadia (3-3, 1-2 BVC) on Friday, January 2. Ada then hosts former NWC foe Delphos Jefferson (3-4) Saturday, Jan. 3.

Ada 68 (7-2)
Oldfield 3 0-0 6, Zimmerman 7 1-2 16, Stauffer 0 0-0 0, Conley 3 5-5 11,
Zoladz 3 2-3 8, Allen 5 0-0 11, McKean 0 0-0 0, Hickman 5 0-0 11,
Griffith 2 0-0 4, Baumgartner 0 1-2 1.
Totals: 25-3/9-12/68. 3-pointers: Hickman 1, Zimmerman 1, Allen 1.

Elgin 21 (1-8)
Creps 3 2-2 9, Zempter 0 3-4 3, Sayre 1 0-0 2, Pineda 0 0-2 0, Leonard 1
0-0 3, French 2 0-0 4.
Totals: 5-2/5-8/21. 3-pointers: Creps 1, Leonard 1.