Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

After the Ironton Fighting Tigers shook off the rust, they left the Bell Multicultural Griffins eating their dust.

Showing some signs of not playing for 11 days, Ironton used the greased lightning of Zac Carter to roll past the Griffins 77-43 Friday in the fifth annual Ironton Classic.

“I was happy with our performance. It’s hard to sit that long and our kids fought through it,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

Carter had 23 points in three quarters to lead four players in double figures as Ironton treated their visitors from Washington, D.C., very rudely on the court.

Trey Fletcher had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Trevor White racked up 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Tristan Cox came off the bench to score 11 points as Ironton improved to 4-0.

“We came out early and we were physical and I was proud of them for that,” said LaFon. “It’s not that we played poorly our first three games, but we did play well tonight. We shared the ball and we took the time to make the extra pass and find the open man.”

Devin Shuler scored 18 and Rayonte Campbell 12 to lead the Griffins.

The Fighting Tigers went on an 8-0 run to start the game and led 15-2 on a 3-point play by Carter with 3:10 on the clock. The Griffins made it 17-10 on 3-pointers by Campbell and Shuler to end the quarter.

Ironton finally shook off the rust midway through the second quarter. Leading 27-21, the Fighting Tigers outscored the Griffins 12-1 the rest of the half to take a 39-22 cushion into the locker room.

Cox hit a trey and a layup that gave Ironton a 48-27 lead and two foul shots by White and a layup by Carter opened up a 53-27 lead with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

Aaron Stephens, Josh Glover and Fletcher made layups to finish the stanza and it was 59-30.

Ironton stretched its lead to 34 when Cox scored 6 unanswered points to make it 75-41.

Ironton’s boys and girls will play in Florida Dec. 27-29.

Bell 10 12 8 13 = 43

Ironton 17 22 20 18 = 77

BELL MULTICULTURAL (NA): Devin Shuler 3 3 3-4 18, Eddie Van 1 0 0-0 2, Rayonte Campbell 1 3 1-2 12, DeAndre Williams 1 0 1-1 3, Paulin Miano 0 0 0-0 , Kelvin Waller 0 0 1-2 1, Darius Campbell 0 0 0-0 0, Carlos Morales 0 0 0-0 0, Aaron Lewter 0 1 1-3 4, Reggie Walker 1 0 0-0 2, Jade Dade 0 0 0-0 0, Dontaye Sharpe 0 0 1-4 1, Devonte Wilson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-60 8-16 43. 3-point goals: 7-26. Rebounds: 7-13=20 (Sharpe 5, Campbell 4). Assists: 2. Steals: 11 (Shuler 4). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (4-0): Zac Carter 7 2 3-3 23, Josh Glover 1 0 2-2 4, Trevor White 4 0 4-4 12, Trey Fletcher 7 1 2-6 19, Aaron Stephens 2 0 0-0 4, Joe Bowling 0 0 0-0 0, Tristan Cox 4 1 0-0 11, Darrius Boykin 2 0 0-0 4, Nate Garred 0 0 0-0 0, Isaac Sherman 0 0 0-0 0, Trevor Easterling 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 32-55 10-15 77. 3-point goals: 3-9. Rebounds: 16-41=57 (Fletcher 11, White 10, Bowling 7). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 11 (Carter 3, White 3). Steals: 5. Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Bowling (4th 3:06).