Zimmerman's late bucket keeps Bulldogs alive

FINDLAY– For the second game in a row, the fate of the Ada Bulldogs was in the hands of Zack Zimmerman. And for the second game in a row, he delivered. With less than 20 seconds to go, Ada had a chance. Down 47-46, the Bulldogs were inbounding under their own basket. The Bulldogs managed to inbound, and found Zimmerman on his way to the basket. Zimmerman fought through a sea of defenders and converted a strong take to the basket to give the Bulldogs a one-point lead with single-digit ticks left on the clock. Allen East junior Keagan Jones, who hit three triples and scored 14 for the Mustangs, was able to get an open look as time expired. Jones missed, thanks to staunch defense from Zimmerman and Hickman, and the Bulldogs escaped with a district semifinal victory.The Bulldogs defeated Allen East 48-47 on Tuesday night from Liberty-Benton, thanks to some tough shot-making in the paint from Zimmerman. Unlike on Friday, when Zimmerman shot the lights out from beyond the arc, this time Zimmerman showcased his finishing, able to convert a multitude of difficult shots in close. "Fortunately, we run that play, and Zack gets it. He was our go-to guy all night tonight," Ada coach Chris Sautter said. "Gets into the paint, off the glass, go up one. Jones got a decent look at it, he had a heck of a game. We're just lucky that we were there to contest it a little bit. It was short, Zack was there to clear the rebound, and here we are moving on."His game off the dribble this year, honestly, has been at times better than his game from beyond the arc. For him to develop that part of his game, it's made him so much tougher to guard. Now, you've gotta worry about not just the three, now he's going to beat you off the dribble. So, if you play off, he's good enough that he can hit five threes in the game like he did last week against Carey."In the first half of Tuesday's game, it was all Bulldogs. After trading two baskets apiece, Ada rattled off a 6-0 run, on two straight inside looks from Zimmerman, to go up 10-4. The Bulldogs ended the opening quarter ahead 14-9. As the second quarter got underway, senior guard Kayleb Hickman showed off his scoring ability, with five straight points to open the quarter and give Ada a double-digit advantage. An impressive steal from Hickman led to an Andrew Allen step-up three just a few plays later, as the Bulldogs cruised into halftime up 26-17. Despite Zimmerman converting two inside looks early in the third, an 8-1 Mustang stretch threatened to push Allen East ahead. The Mustangs would have to wait until the fourth to try a comeback, as Ada finished the third up 37-32. An 11-3 start to the final quarter saw Allen East grab its first lead of the contest, going ahead 41-39 with 3:45 left in the game. The teams would trade baskets and defensive stops, until a score by senior Gavin Oldfield put Ada up 46-45 inside a minute to play. "They just walled up," Ada junior Carson Conley said. "They didn't foul us, and just stayed in front of us pretty well."Allen East's Camden Smith found his way inside and made a layup through contact, pushing the Mustangs ahead 47-46 with a chance to add one more at the line. Smith missed the free throw, and the Mustangs were called for a foul on the rebound, sending senior Blake Zoladz to the line for Ada with just 20 seconds. Zoladz would miss both, but Allen East touched the ball as it went out of bounds on the rebound, as Ada looked to inbound for Zimmerman's game-winning shot. "We just had a heck of a time keeping them in front of us," Sautter said. "They're quick with the ball. We thought maybe we could shade them to their weak hand and keep them in front of us, and that wasn't working. We had to square them up. Left, right, whatever, just keep them in front, keep them out of the paint."Zimmerman ended with a game-high 21 points, making nine two-pointers. Hickman scored seven points for the Bulldogs, playing the entire game. Oldfield and Conley each tacked on six points. "His (Zimmerman's) attitude and demeanor tonight," Sautter said. "He was like, 'Give me the ball. I want the ball, it's my senior year.' Him, Kayleb, and Gavin just led this team to victory, and I'm just happy for those seniors."Brady Brooks paced the Mustangs with 15 points. Both Smith and Deacon Jones had six. The Bulldogs, now up to 17-7, have a tough task ahead of them on Friday night. "I don't think Marion Local starts anybody smaller than Allen East's biggest player," Sautter said. "The size differential is huge. They're big, physical, strong, they're not going to beat themselves. They don't make mistakes, they're gonna guard you hard. We're gonna have to really, really take care of the ball and be strong with it."Ada will match up with the 22-1 powerhouse Flyers, who are on a 1-game win streak after narrowly defeating New Bremen (15-9) by two points on Tuesday night. ADAZimmerman 9-3–21, Hickman 3-1–7, Oldfield 3-0–6, Conley 2-2–6, Zoladz 2-0–4, Allen 1-0–3, McKean 0-1–1. TOTALS: 20-7–48.ALLEN EASTBrooks 6-3–15, K. Jones 4-3–14, Smith 3-0–6, D. Jones 3-0–6, Stanley 1-2–4, Montgomery 1-0–2. TOTALS: 18-8–47.Ada 14 12 11 11–48Allen East 9 8 15 15–47THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS: Ada 1 (Allen); Allen East 3 (K. Jones 3).