PHOTOS by Mark Andreasen

Ada to play Allen East on Wednesday

By Cory Reynolds

CAREY__The visiting Ada High School boys basketball team rode three-point accuracy, tough defense and strong offensive rebounding to soundly defeat Carey 67-42 in Div. VI sectional final play on Friday, February 27.

A 20-5 Ada run to start the third quarter consolidated their 11-point halftime lead, and the Bulldogs rolled to victory from there.

Ada swamped Carey with a 22-9 third quarter to take a commanding 50-26 bulge into the final stanza and effectively seal the outcome. 

The Bulldogs improved to 16-7 with the decisive road tournament victory.

Fourth seed Carey ends its season 13-10 after the surprisingly lopsided home defeat.

“We were pretty good defensively,” said 16th-year Ada head coach Chris Sautter. “We made it tough for them to run anything and get open looks.

”We were able to spread them out offensively and get into the paint, and finish at the rim and kick it out to shooters,” he noted. “The kids did a nice job of sharing the ball, and we are a whole lot better when we have four guys in double figures.”

The Bulldogs scored first, and a Carson Conley drive made it 5-2 as the Bulldogs never tailed. Gavin Oldfield sank a layup, followed by a Kyler Boes triple. Conley answered by drilling a trey. Andrew Allen canned a follow shot to provide a 12-5 margin.

Senior Zack Zimmerman canned a deuce, followed by a Devil basket. Oldfield drained a trifecta just before the buzzer to put the Bulldogs ahead 17-9 after the first period.

Junior guard Blake Zoladz made a fast break layin from Conley to open the second stanza. Carey’s Brayden Kitzler drove for a nice layup to cut the deficit to 19-11.

Oldfield sank a layin, followed by a Bekkem Sherman drive. Conley canned a drive for a 23-13 edge. Boes sank a trifecta to cut the lead to seven.

Zimmerman splashed a triple for a 26-17 lead with about two minutes left in the half. Conley dished off for a basket three seconds before intermission to lift Ada to a 28-17 advantage at halftime.

Zimmerman buried a trey to open the second half off an offensive rebound. Boes answered with his third triple to make it 31-20. But Zimmerman responded with another three of his own after two offensive rebounds.

Chase Stone sank two free throws, yet Zoladz drove and scored. He missed the chance to complete an and-one, but Ada rebounded the miss and Zimmerman splashed yet another triple to prompt a Carey timeout, down 39-22.

Kitzler was assessed a foul and then a technical foul for arguing, and Zimmerman split the pair. Ada then capitalized on the ensuing possession as ZZ nailed another trifecta. He then hit two charity stripes to extend the Bulldog lead to 45-22.

A Zoladz jumper made it 48-22 to cap a 14-0 run. Two Sherman foul shots stopped the long Carey drought. Oldfield nailed a pull-up 19-footer in transition to build the lead to 50-24.

Ada led 50-26 heading into the final stanza. Chase Mulholland knocked down a trey to open the fourth, followed by two Zoladz foul shots. ZZ scored in transition, and Kayleb Hickman sank a pair at the line.

Oldfield made a nice reverse layup and Kitzler scored on a drive to make it 58-33. Oldfield tallied inside off a Conley assist. Kitzler and Boes each drilled a three to cut the lead to 60-40.

Hickman penetrated the lane and scored. Zoladz sank a basket, followed by two Allen foul shots as Ada won the fourth quarter, 17-16.  

The 16 wins are the most by Ada in a season since their state final four run in 2009.

ZZ topped four Bulldogs in double figures with a game-high 23 points and five triples.

Slashing wing Oldfield tallied 14 points. Conley and Zoladz contributed 11 markers apiece. Conley scored seven points in the first period.

Boes topped Carey with 12 points on four treys.

The Bulldogs connected on 17 two-point goals and drilled seven trifectas. Ada converted 12 of 18 free throws (67 percent).

Carey canned eight deuces and made good on six treys. The Devils sank   eight of 12 foul shots (67 percent).    

The Bulldogs shot well from deep and hit the offensive boards strongly, Sautter agreed.

Ada is riding a four-game win streak by an average margin of 35.3 ppg. They came into the tournament averaging 55.1 ppg and allowing just 39.8 ppg.

“We will enjoy this one tonight, and then get back at it and start preparing for a second shot at Allen East,” Sautter said.

The Bulldogs advance to play third-seeded local rival Allen East (14-9) on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Findlay in the district semifinals. The Mustangs defeated sixth-seed Hopewell-Loudon 55-47 on Friday in Harrod. 

AE edged visiting rival Ada 52-49 back on Dec. 6.

Midwest Athletic Conference power Marion Local (20-1) is the top seed in the draw. ML got a first-round bye and will play New Bremen (15-8), which beat Parkway Friday, at Wapakoneta on Wednesday, March 4.

The district finals are Friday, March 6 at Wapakoneta.

Ada 67 (16-7)

Oldfield 6 1-2 14, A. Brown 0 0-0 0, Stauffer 0 0-0 0, Zoladz 4 3-6 11, Zimmerman 7 4-6 23, Conley 5 0-2 11, Henson 0 0-0 0, Allen 1 2-2 4, McKean 0 0-0 0, Hickman 1 2-2 4.

Totals: 17-7/12-18/67. 3-pointers: Zimmerman 5, Conley 1, Oldfield 1.

Carey 42 (13-10)

Roberts 2 0-0 4, Kitzler 4 2-4 11, Boes 4 0-0 12, Stone 0 4-6 4, Sherman 2 2-2 6, Bame 0 0-0 0, Phoenix 0 0-0 0, Mulholland 1 0-0 3, Ritter 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0-0 2.

Totals: 8-6/8-12/42. 3-pointers: Boes 4, Kitzler 1, Mulholland 1.