Portsmouth – The Kiddie Corps came through.

Sunday, January 16, 2000

Portsmouth – The Kiddie Corps came through.With seniors Jason Harmon and Michael Henry strapped with foul trouble, Ironton turned to its underclassmen for help.

Juniors Josh Harmon and Isaac Hannon along with sophomores Drew Mains, Roman Fry, and Tommy Lutz pulled together and helped engineer a 65-60 upset Friday of the Portsmouth Trojans.

"If you had told me we would play against Portsmouth press without Harmon and Henry, I never would have dreamed we would play this well," Ironton coach Chris Barnes said.

"All our sophomores stepped up and did a great job. Drew Mains had a humongous game. And I can’t say enough about Josh Harmon."

Josh Harmon had 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals to lead the win. Jason Harmon still managed 17 points despite playing less than two quarters.

"Jason had three fouls, so we had to step up. I picked up where I played at Coal Grove. I haven’t played that well since them," Josh Harmon said. "I hit two turn around jumpers and felt good. It was a confidence thing."

Mains had nine points, four rebounds, and two steals as he filled in at point guard when Jason Harmon went to the bench.

Fry and Lutz had five points each and Fry grabbed six rebounds as he helped keep R. J. Cameron and Greg McKinley from totally dominating the boards.

Cameron had 10 rebounds and McKinley nine for Portsmouth, 6-5. Jerry Jordan had 16 points and Cameron 10.

Jason Harmon had seven points the first quarter as Ironton took a 14-9 lead. But Harmon picked up his third foul to start the quarter and Portsmouth went on an 10-0 run to lead 19-14.

Fry made two foul shots at the 5:44 mark for Ironton’s first points of the quarter. A layup by Jordan stretched the lead to 23-17.

A layup by Lutz and a 16-footer by Josh Harmon closed the gap to 27-26. Two foul shots by Hannon tied the game and Fry hit the first of two free throws to put Ironton up 29-28 with 1:15 left in the half.

Josh Harmon’s 8-footer with 36 seconds left had the Fighting Tigers up 30-29, but Dan Washington followed up a missed shot at the buzzer as Portsmouth took a 31-30 halftime edge.

Jason Harmon was whistled for his fourth foul and Henry his third soon after the second half began. The Trojans took advantage of their absence to open up a 48-38 lead when Lennon Brown got a putback with 1:42 on the clock.

A three-point play by Josh Harmon made it 48-41 and Henry returned to make two foul shots as Ironton closed to within 48-43 at the end of the quarter.

Jeremy Greene put Portsmouth ahead 50-43 to open the fourth quarter, but Mains drained a 3-pointer, Josh Harmon made a layup, and Mains sank two foul shots to tie the game. Hannon was fouled and hit two free throws to give Ironton its first lead since the second quarter.

The game was 55-55 when Josh Harmon rebounded a missed shot and scored to give Ironton the lead for good. Mains followed with a layup and Jason Harmon returned to convert a steal into a layup and it was 61-55 with 1:09 to play.

Jordan’s 8-footer halted the run and then Jason Harmon was fouled. Harmon hit the first shot, missed the second an d Brown grabbed the rebound. But Brown hurt his ankle on the play and Josh Harmon picked up the loose ball and scored.

Jason Harmon hit another free throw with 12 seconds left to make it 65-57. Jordan’s uncontested 3-pointer at the buzzer set the final score.

"I felt we could get some runouts. That’s the way we have to play," said Barnes. "For some reason, Portsmouth was out of rhythm and looked tight. We were relaxed. We had a lot of energy and enthusiasm that carried us the last five minutes," said Barnes.

Ironton plays at Ashland, Ky. Tuesday.