Ada’s Jayden Bankston (left) and Columbus Grove’s Tadd Koch compete for a loose ball during Friday night’s game at Columbus Grove.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
COLUMBUS GROVE — It took a little while for Columbus Grove to shake off the rust.
However, in the end, Columbus Grove managed to make enough plays down the stretch to hold off Ada, 53-52, in a Northwest Conference boys basketball thriller Friday night at Columbus Grove.
It was the NWC-opener for both teams. For Columbus Grove, it also was the first game of the season.
Columbus Grove is getting a late start to its basketball season, due to the success of the football team this fall. Columbus Grove’s football team made it all the way to the Division VI state semifinals, before bowing out to Marion Local, the eventual state champion.
Ada, on the other hand, came into Friday’s contest undefeated in its three games it has played so far this young season.
“They (Ada) play all seniors; and obviously they have been in the gym a lot longer than us this year,” Columbus Grove head coach Chris Sautter said with a grin. “They have a lot of guys with a lot of experience. They have a lot of length. They’re athletic. It was a tough first game for us.”
Trenton Barraza led Columbus Grove (1-0, 1-0 NWC) with 15 points, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. Zach Reynolds had 10 points and six rebounds. Tadd Koch, a 6-foot-3 post player, added eight points, three rebounds, two steals and a block for Columbus Grove.
Carter Conley led Ada (3-1, 0-1 NWC) with 13 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jayden Bankston scored 12 points, including 5 of 7 shooting from the free throw line. Spencer Wall had 10 points and five boards. Grant Preston added nine points and four rebounds for Ada.
In the final seconds of Friday’s game, Columbus Grove took the lead, and then held on for the hard-fought one-point victory.
Ada led 42-41 at the end of the third quarter.
It was a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
With 25 seconds left to play in the game, Bankston made a shot down low to give Ada a 52-51 lead.
Columbus Grove responded.
With 8.5 seconds left in the game, Barraza drove inside the paint and scored, giving Columbus Grove the one-point advantage.
Ada had one last opportunity.
With time running down, Wall got a decent look from the perimeter, but his shot rimmed out, and the game was over.
“We needed to get a bucket on the last possession. Then, we needed to get a stop on the last defensive possession; and we did,” Sautter said. “We ran that play for Trent (Trenton Barraza). He’s pretty good at going off the dibble. He was able to get in there and score.
“Then, we were able to (apply) soft pressure, but make them work to get the ball past halfcourt, and not leave them a lot of time to get a quality look. We made him (Wall) take a contested shot; and fortunately, he missed it.”
Early on, both teams took a while to get it going at the offensive end.
By the end of the first quarter, Ada led Columbus Grove 11-7.
In the first eight minutes of action, the score was knotted three times, while the lead changed hands three times.
Columbus Grove was just 3 of 15 shooting from the field in the first quarter. Ada connected on 4 of 9 from the floor. Wall led Ada with four points.
Evan Sautter (six points) began to heat up in the second quarter for Columbus Grove. Sautter connected twice behind the arc. Barraza and Kyle Hopkins (five points) each nailed a 3-pointer to help Columbus Grove slip out with a 24-19 lead by the halftime break.
For the half, Columbus Grove was 9 of 28 from the floor for 32-percent shooting. Ada was 7 of 18 from the floor for 39-percent shooting.
Sautter led Columbus Grove with six first-half points. Preston led Ada with five first-half markers.
Ada looked to push the tempo in the second half.
At the 3:55 mark of the third quarter, Wall made an inside shot to give Ada a 35-33 lead.
At the end of the third quarter, Ada was clinging to a one-point lead.
Ada was 6 of 11 shooting from the floor in the third stanza. Columbus Grove also shot well, hitting 8 of 14 shots from the floor.
For the game, Columbus Grove shot 43 percent from the field. Ada connected on 45 percent of its field goal attempts.
Ada won the battle on the boards, 30-26.
Columbus Grove committed eight turnovers on the night, while Ada turned it over 13 times.
“I thought we got pretty good contributions from all eight guys that played tonight,” Sautter said. “It’s just going to take time to get them in shape – with their legs. The shots will fall, eventually.
“We executed fairly well, for no longer than we’ve been in the gym. We made the right passes, got the good looks, but just couldn’t finish.”
Mark Altstaetter wrote this story for LimaScores.com. Reach The Lima News sports department at 567-242-0451.
