|
|
|
 | |
|
 |
|
Wednesday, 23 January 2008 |
 Wapakoneta senior Zach Brown brings the ball up the court guarded by Ada senior Zac Dysert during Tuesday non-league varsity boys basketball game at WHS. (Staff photo/ Brad Avery)
By JOSHUA KEERAN
Sports Editor
When a team’s ranked 11th in the state and boasts a 10-1 record, it doesn’t need help from the referees to get going, or does it?
That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night in non-league varsity boys basketball between the Wapakoneta Redskins and the state-ranked Ada Bulldogs. With a little help from the officials, Ada got a slight bit of help and took full advantage of it, cruising to a 73-52 victory.
“I thought we got out to a good start in the first quarter,” Ada varsity coach Chris Sautter said. “From then on, they beat us in the second and third quarters, but we still found a way to win, which is what it’s all about when playing on the road.”
Trailing 34-28 at halftime, Wapakoneta (5-8) came out in the second half with thoughts of handing the Bulldogs their second loss of the season.
An 11-8 run to begin the third period by the Redskins brought them to within a trifecta, 42-39, with 2:55 left until the final stanza.
On the next possession, a turnover by Ada appeared to lead to an easy layup at the other end by Wapakoneta that would have cut the lead to a point. One of the referee’s, however, had different thoughts as just before a Redskin went up for a wide-open layup, the referee blew his whistle, ending the play.
After discussing the phantom whistle, Wapakoneta was forced to take the ball out-of-bounds and from that point on the Redskins were never able to get closer than 3 points.
“We don’t get a score and then they come down and get a score, which kind of broke our backs right there,” Wapakoneta varsity coach Scott Minnig said. “Everything went downhill from the point on.”
Following the blunder, Ada ran off 5 straight points to take a 47-39 lead, but Wapakoneta ended the period on a 4-0 run to draw to within 4 points, 47-43.
With momentum still on its side, the Bulldogs put the game away with a 13-2 run to begin the fourth period that gave them a 60-45 with 4:15 left. During the run, Ada turned to Division I football recruit Zac Dysert, who scored 8 of his game-high 24 points during that stretch.
He also finished the game with a game-high 11 rebounds.
“He’s a man. There is a reason why he is a Division I athlete,” Minnig said. “He’s a good player and seems to be a good kid. He’s just a man amongst boys.”
The Bulldogs closed out the game on a 13-7 run to seal the deal.
In the second half, Ada shot lights out from the field, going 17-of-24.
After allowing Ada to jump out to an 18-11 lead after 8 minutes of play, the Redskins came to life in the second period thanks to red-hot shooting from the perimeter.
Wapakoneta made four 3-pointers in a period in which the Redskins outscored the Bulldogs, 17-16.
The Redskins finished the first half 7-of-17 from downtown.
“It was good shooting. We were passing the ball and working it around quickly,” Minnig said.
“We were able to get some good, open looks and we knocked them in.”
For Ada, Nate Vermillion had 12 points, while Kyle Baker and Mitchell Faine each added 10.
“The biggest thing for us was getting the opportunity to play on this floor where our district is,” Sautter said.
For Wapakoneta, Kyle Maus led the way with 14 points and Jake Lambert chipped in 11.
“We need those guys to step up,” Minnig said. “Kyle needs to get back to playing the way Kyle plays, which I thought he did tonight.
“I thought Jake came out and gave us some good quality minutes defensively and offensively, which I was happy about.”
Also for the Redskins, Luke McDevitt scored 9 points and Zach Brown added 8.
In the junior varsity contest, Ada (11-2) defeated Wapakoneta (1-13) by a score of 40-28.
For the Redskins, Derek Shark scored a team-high 9 points. |
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 January 2008 )
|
|
|
|
