Ada's fast start bests Perry

LIMA - Ada wanted to get off to a good start on Saturday against Perry, and the Bulldogs certainly did that in a 72-52 boys basketball win.

The Commodores (3-2) jumped out to 4-0 lead before Mitchell Faine connected on three 3-pointers in a 13-3 Bulldogs run that gave Ada a 13-7 lead after the first quarter.

Ada (2-1) had a decided height advantage over the Commodores and road a hot-shooting second period to grab a 27-14 lead going into the half.

The Bulldogs connected on 11-of-21 from the field in the first half for 52 percent, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

"We wanted to get off to a good start and Mitchell (Faine) hit those three's to get us going." Ada coach Chris Sautter said. "Our defensive effort held them to 14 first-half points."

The Bulldogs stymied any hopes of a Perry comeback when they had seven players score in the third quarter and outscored the Commodores 23-14 to take a 50-28 lead after three periods of play.

Freshman guard Konnor Baker keyed the Ada third quarter offense with a seven-point effort.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the final period and Perry outscored Ada 24-22 in the quarter.

"We came out with some intensity on offense and then they got in the passing lanes," Perry coach Matt Tabler said. "We have to learn that when a team comes out and guards us that we have to be more aggressive. But we gave up 72 points and we aren't going to win many games doing that. We will use this game as a learning experience."

Ada received outstanding offensive balance led by Konnor Baker's game-high 17 points. Faine finished with 16 points and Aaron Cross had 15 while Matt McBride totaled 11 points coming off the bench.

"We're still knocking the rust off from football," Sautter said. "We shot the ball well from the free throw line."

Ada went 17-of-19 from the line for the game, including 15-of-17 in the second half.

Both teams committed 13 turnovers but the Bulldogs managed a 37-26 advantage in rebounding.

"We held our own against their big men on the boards," Tabler said. "Their guards just killed us rebounding and that's just a matter of not blocking out."

Perry struggled with its' shooting as they finished 18 of 53 for 34 percent. Ada finished at 44 percent on 24 of 54 including 7 of 14 on 3-pointers.