By RICK SPRUNGER
MONROE – Southern Wells spotted Adams Central a 34-15 halftime lead Friday night but then played strong ball in the second half.
Adams Central won the game, 70-50, but had to work hard in the final two quarters to hang onto that lead.
“We played much better in the second half,” said Southern Wells coach Kyle Penrod afterwards. “We shot the ball really well and cut down on our turnovers.
In fact, the Raiders (3-15, 1-5) were red-hot in the second half, hitting on 13 of 25 shots after the intermission for a sizzling 52 percent shooting while turning the ball over just three times in the entire half.
Contrast that with just 7-for-23 shooting (30.4 percent) and 12 turnovers while Adams Central (11-7, 5-1) was sprinting out to that big halftime lead.
“We were getting good shots in the first half; we just weren’t hitting any,” sighed Penrod. “And then we weren’t getting back on defense.
“We did a better job of that in the second half, too.
“Of course,” he sort of chuckled, “that’s a lot easier when you’re hitting your shots and they have to take the ball out of bounds.”
Southern Wells had to play at a disadvantage all night without 6-foot-1 sophomore Quentin Mullins clogging up the middle on defense and on the boards.
“He hurt his knee in the Jay County game Monday night,” explained Penrod of the big guy’s absence.
“He has a strained MCL.
“Nothing is torn, but he needs to wear a brace and give it some rest.
“We’re hoping to have him back for the sectional.”
Adams Central’s size figured to give Southern Wells trouble even with Mullins in the lineup.
Without him, Penrod turned to 6-foot-4 freshman Cody Thomas.
All Thomas did was contribute 4 points on 2-for-4 shooting while pulling down five big rebounds against the likes of 6-foot-5, 240-pound junior Ethan Poling and 6-foot-6 sophomore Isaac Schultz.
“He did a nice job, didn’t he?” smiled Penrod about the play of his young center. “He did really well for having to be thrown in against a team as big as they are.”
Southern Wells only led once in the contest at 2-0 on a short Dustin Woodward jumper from the lane, driving Adams Central coach Aaron McClure to an immediate timeout less than a minute in.
When the Jets came back out, they immediately dashed off on a 19-2 burst for a 15-point lead.
Southern Wells scrapped back to within 24-15, however, before missing its last four shots and committing five turnovers over the last five minutes of the first half.
That allowed Adams Central to score the final 10 points of the half.
And when Ethan Brown dumped in a baseline jumper to start the second half, it was 36-15.
But the Jets couldn’t pull away.
With the score 50-31 late in the third quarter, Southern Wells made its move.
Kedrik Sonnigsen wrapped back-to-back threes around the third quarter break to knock it down to 50-37.
The Raiders got the ball back down, 51-38, and Brandon Kirtley put a three in the air from the left corner in an attempt to get the lead down to 10.
The shot missed, however, and Adams Central zipped off on a 13-3 run and finally put the hammer down.
Still, Penrod was upbeat, particularly after seeing how well his team played in the second half.
“We just need to get a full game of shooting well and taking care of the ball,” said the coach. “But that’s been a hard time coming.”
Kirtley led Southern Wells in scoring with 13 points, including a half-court shot at the buzzer to end the first quarter.
Sonnigsen added 11 points, all in the second half, and Woodward finished with 10.
Adams Central placed four men in double figures, including Poling with 15, Braysen Yergler with 14, Schultz with 13 points and 14 rebounds off the bench, and Micah McClure with 11 points, all in the first half.
The Jets were 29-for-49 from the floor for a solid 49.2 percent and enjoyed a 36-21 edge on the glass.
Adams Central also won the junior varsity contest by a 38-23 score.
Andrew Aker paced Southern Wells with 13 points. Perrin Gates added 4.
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ADAMS CENTRAL 70, SOUTHERN WELLS 50
At Adams Central High School
SOUTHERN WELLS (3-15, 1-5): Kedrick Sonnigsen 3-3 3-4 11, Dustin Woodward 5-10 0-1 10, Austin Harris 3-9 0-0 6, Brandon Kirtley 5-10 0-0 13, Evan Pennington 1-4 0-2 3, Jenson Nusbaumer 1-8 0-0 3, Cody Thomas 2-4 0-3 4. TOTAL: 20-48 3-10 50.
ADAMS CENTRAL (11-7, 5-1): Micah McClure 4-8 0-0 11, Braysen Yergler 6-14 0-2 14, Nick Neuenschwander 1-5 0-0 2, Ethan Brown 2-6 0-0 4, Ethan Poling 6-6 3-3 15, Isaac Schultz 6-9 1-2 13, Ryan Tester 2-8 2-3 7, Kam Brown 1-1 0-0 2, Hudson Conkling 0-0 0-0 0, Keaton Springer 0-0 0-0 0. TOTAL: 29-59 6-10 70.
Southern Wells 9 6 19 16 –– 50
Adams Central 19 15 16 20 –– 70
Three-point Goals: Southern Wells 7-22 (Sonnigsen 2-2, Woodward 0-1, Harris 0-2, Kirtley 3-8, Pennington 1-2, Nusbaumer 1-7), Adams Central 6-21 (McClure 3-6, Yergler 2-5, Neuenschwander 0-3, E. Brown 0-2, Tester 1-4, K. Brown 0-1). Rebounds: Southern Wells 26 (Woodward 7, Harris 6, Thomas 5), Adams Central 39 (Schultz 14, Yergler 6, Poling 5, Tester 5). Turnovers: Southern Wells 15, Adams Central 12. Personal fouls: Southern Wells 12, Adams Central 10. Fouled out: Woodward, E. Brown. Technical fouls: None.
JV: Adams Central 38, Southern Wells 23
