Cougar clubs notch first-round victories at ECOC
Jan. 7—Both Ada High School basketball teams advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 East Central Oklahoma Classic with first-round victories Thursday night inside the Cougar Activity Center.
The Ada boys turned up the heat in the fourth quarter and knocked off Tulsa McLain 63-40 and were scheduled to meet Sand Springs in a semifinal contest Friday night.
The Cougars improved to 6-3 on the year, while McLain dropped to 5-4.
In a girls first-round contest, the Lady Cougars had their hands full with rival Ardmore before using a strong, late defensive effort in a 43-31 victory.
The Ada girls met Ponca City Friday night in a semifinal matchup. The Lady Cougars, ranked No. 19 in Class 4A, improved to 7-5 on the year. Ardmore dropped to 2-6.
BOYS
Ada 63, McLain 40
The Cougars led 39-30 with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter but then engineered a 17-6 run to put the game out of reach. After AHS newcomer Carter Colombe sank a 3-pointer and scored on a putback of his own miss on back-to-back possessions, Andrew Hughes got free inside for an easy bucket off a nice assist from Jack Morris that gave Ada a 20-point advantage at 56-36 with just over three minutes to play.
Ada began the game on a 16-7 run and carried a 28-17 lead into halftime.
The Titans got within single digits three times in the third quarter — the last coming when 6-8 post player Billy Williams scored inside to cut the McLain deficit to 39-30.
The Cougars went on to outscore the Titans 21-8 in the fourth quarter. Ada hit 9-of-12 (75%) field goals over the final eight minutes and was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point territory.
Junior Devon MacCollister hit a pair of triples in the fourth period and made three in the game en route to a game-high 23 points. He also had three steals.
Colombe also hit a trio of 3-point shots and finished with 17 points, five rebounds and a dunk. Hughes also reached double figures with 12 points and had a two-handed slam of his own.
Morris followed with eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Junior KJ Nichols led McLain with 20 points and five rebounds. Williams scored eight points off the bench.
GIRLS
Ada 43, Ardmore 31
The Lady Tigers hung around and hung around and hung around before Ada clamped down on defense.
Ada trailed 28-25 after Ardmore's Destinee McGee hit a 3-pointer at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter.
The Lady Cougars turned things around and outscored Ardmore 18-3 the rest of the way.
Ada junior Rylynn Truett hit a pair of 3-pointers and Sania Richardson hit a triple and converted a three-point play during a 13-1 surge to end the third quarter. Ada led 38-29 heading into the fourth period.
Richardson hit another 3-pointer to open the final frame and Ada never looked back.
Richardson led the Ada offense with 17 points and also had nine rebounds, three steals and five assists. Post player Tyley Dotson recorded a double-double that included 13 points and 10 boards.
Ardmore got nine points from both McGee and Kierra Dorsey.
