Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEEBLES — There were not surprises.

This was a matchup of two teams with a great scoring guard and the ability to score points as a team.

Ironton and Peebles lived up to its billing and the Fighting Tigers took a key win in a hostile environment by beating the Indians 84-70 on Saturday.

Peebles is know for their long-range shooting and they didn’t disappoint. The Indians made 10 of 26 attempts from behind the arc and shot 25 of 51 overall from the floor.

“You have to cover the perimeter. When we let them get back in the game they were hitting the 3’s. We started guarding the long shots and take a chance giving up a cheap layup now and then,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

Zac Carter led Ironton (9-2) with a career-high 44 points including 24 in the first half. Trey Fletcher had 25 points and 18 rebounds with Trevor White getting 8 points and 10 rebounds.

“Zac is hard to guard. We’ll miss him when he’s gone and everyone else will be glad when he’s gone,” said LaFon.

Peebles (9-4) was led by Beau Justice with 35 points and 7 rebounds. Trent Arey scored 18 points and Mason Johnson has 12 points.

Ironton raced to an 11-2 lead following a 3-point play by Carter.

A trey by Tristan Cox gave Ironton an 18-6 lead but Peebles got within 20-13 by the end of the quarter.

Back-to-back triples by Justice and a pair of free throws by Justice tied the game at 23 with 5:20 left in the half.

The score began to see-saw over the last two minutes of the half as the lead changed hands six times, the final on a pair of foul shots by Carter to put Ironton ahead 40-39 at the break.

The Indians were 14 of 28 from the field in the first half and 7 of 16 from the 3-point line include 6 of 10 in the second quarter.

“When those guys start knocking down those shots, it’s tough. We knew they could shoot. They let it go so quick and playing in their gym they’re used to those rims,” said LaFon.

Fletcher started the third quarter with a 3-point play and it was 43-39. Peebles came back to take a 47-45 lead on a layup by Arey.

Two foul shots by Justice gave Peebles its biggest lead of the game at 51-48 at the 3:35 mark.

A layup by Carter put Ironton on top for good at 52-51 and a steal by Joe Bowling who fed Carter for a layup helped open up a 56-51 lead.

Carter had a steal and layup just before the buzzer and Ironton led 59-54 at the end of the quarter.

A trey by Carter and a steal and layup by Darrius Boykin gave Ironton a 65-56 lead. Fletcher had a 3-point play with 4:15 left that gave Ironton its biggest lead of the game at 73-58.

Justice hit a 3-pointer and a layup and Matt McAdow a foul shot to cut the deficit to 73-64, but Carter’s layup and White’s spinning layup pushed the lead to 79-67.

Arey’s triple made it 79-70, but Fletcher hit a foul shot and Darrius Boykin made two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal the win.

Ironton was missing starting center Aaron Stephens who was in Florida playing in the National Blue/Grey All-Star Game.

“It changes your rotation, but it wasn’t a permanent thing so we didn’t concern ourselves over the long term. We missed him but he’ll be back next week,” said LaFon.

Ironton hosts Columbus Eastmoor next Saturday.

Ironton 20 20 19 25 = 84

Peebles 13 26 15 16 = 70

IRONTON (9-2): Zac Carter 13 3 9-10 44, Josh Glover 0 0 0-2 0, Trevor White 4 0 0-0 8, Trey Fletcher 7 0 11-17 25, Darrius Boykin 1 0 2-2 4, Joe Bowling 0 0 0-0 0, Tristan Cox 0 1 0-0 3. Totals: 29-63 22-31 84. 3-point goals: 4-18. Rebounds: 20-16=36 (Fletcher 18, White 10). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 7 (Carter 3). Steals: 10 (Carter 3, Boykin 3). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.

PEEBLES (9-4): Beau Justice 7 5 6-6 35, Trent Arey 5 2 2-4 18, Mason Johnson 1 3 1-2 12, Tyler Gray 1 0 0-0 2, Tyler Ryan 0 0 0-0 0, Matt McAdow 1 0 1-2 3, Stone Crothers 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-51 10-14 70. 3-point goals: 10-26. Rebounds: 9-19-28 (Justice 7, McAdow 6). Team rebounds: 2. Assists: 3 (Arey 2). Steals: 2. Turnovers: 20. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.

x