Steadfast Cougars work past Bombers

Patience is a virtue; Ada-Borup was lucky to posses such trait against Waubun on Friday.

The Cougars had stretches of uneasiness throughout the game, but it kept its cool and worked from behind to win 67-54 in Waubun.

Ada-Borup (4-1) opened the game with an 8-3 lead, but 8 minutes into the game Waubun drained 3 triples and hit multiple shots from the paint to gain a 21-13 advantage.

“Waubun hit a lot of threes that we left open in the first half, and we panicked,” Ada-Borup coach Trevor Stewart said. “Our defense just needed some time to settle in and regain confidence, then we started clicking.”

After being overtaken, Stewart called a timeout, giving Ada-Borup’s offense and defense time to regain composure.

The break worked, as the Cougars worked the game back to a 26-26 tie with a 13-5 run.

Throughout the run, Ada-Borup worked the ball around the court to an open shooter or a post down low, and its defense created turnovers and kept Waubun (1-3) from any second chance opportunities it obtained at the game’s start.

“All we needed was a defensive stop. Just something to get us back on track,” Stewart said. “We got that, and it led to a score, and we were able to continue the same trend until halftime.”

Ada-Borup’s first half success spilled over into the second half, as Joel Merkens made strong moves down low to score, even with a hand in his face.

Merkens ended the game as second leading scorer for Ada-Borup with 13 points, behind Blake Fetting who led all scorers with 18 points collected from transition scores and jumpers.

It was both Merkens and Fetting who guided Ada-Borup out of a shaky situation where it held just a 42-41 lead, as the two strong offensive players got to the line with physical attacks to the hoop.

“Once we believed in ourselves defensively, our offense followed,” Stewart said. “Guys stepped up, made hustle plays and created scoring opportunities that we thrived off of to pull away at the end.”