Ironton Fighting Tigers coach Mark LaFon was up to his ankles in problems.

Starters Tyler Shoemaker and Marc Carter missed Wednesday’s game against Gallipolis with ankle sprains.

To make matters worse, center Andy Colegrove went down with a twisted ankle in the third quarter.

But instead of Gallipolis getting its foot in the door, the Blue Devils ran into the grit and determination of the Fighting Tigers as Ironton took a 63-56 Southeastern Ohio Athletic League win.

“Last two games we’ve taken a hit injury-wise. I didn’t know until we got to the game if Alstan (Carter) was going to play,” LaFon said. “But these are tough kids. There were so many of them who stepped up.”

Chad Miller and Alstan Carter were two of the players who stepped up. Miller had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Carter got 10 points and 4 assists. Both had 3 steals.

“Chad and Alstan both responded. They both played their guts out,” LaFon said. “Chad ran the offense well and Alstan does things that doesn’t show up in the boxscore.”

Ironton clinched the second place spot in the South Division with the win. The Fighting Tigers are now 11-5 overall and 6-4 in the league.

Gallipolis (7-8, 3-7) was led by Jayme Haggerty and Shawn Thompson with 12 points each. Jeff Golden had 10.

A 3-point play by Colegrove helped Ironton take an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Fighting Tigers, who had just four turnovers in the first half, went on a 10-0 run to open the second quarter as Zach Christensen basket capped the scoring spree and it was 21-9.

A 3-pointer by Miller, a basket by Dustin Green and two free throws by Alstan Carter made it 28-11. David Rumley sank two foul shots as the Devils cut the deficit to 28-13 at the break.

“The kids played well together the first half and Gallipolis played really well in the second half,” LaFon said.

“We won the game in the second quarter. We got such a big lead that whenever they made a run, we were far enough ahead that we would just have to make a shot or two and it was too much for them to overcome.”

Ironton held its biggest lead at 32-14 early in the third quarter on a basket by Miller before Gallipolis climbed to within 42-29 at the end of the quarter.

The Blue Devils kept chipping away at the lead and were down 61-54 after a 3-pointer by Chris McCoy.

But Miller and Drew Kuehne each made free throws to seal the win.

Gallipolis941627=56

Ironton11171421=63

GALLIPOLIS (7-8, 3-7): Jayme Haggerty 2 2 2-4 12, David Rumley 0 0 4-4 4, Jeff Golden 3 0 4-4 10, Cole Jones 3 0 3-6 9, Chris McCoy 1 1 1-3 6, Zach Brown 0 1 0-0 3, Shawn Thompson 4 1 1-2 12, Nick Stevens 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-47

15-23

56. 3-point goals: 5-17. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Thompson, Jones, Haggerty. Rebounds: 13-15=28 (Thompson 8, Jones 7, Golden 7). Assists: 9 (Golden 3, Thompson 2, McCoy 2). Steals: 8 (Haggerty 2, Jones 2, McCoy 2). Turnovers: 17. Blocked shots: 2 (Jones 1, Golden 1).

IRONTON (11-5, 6-4): Alstan Carter 3 0 4-9 10, Chad Miller 5 1 7-8 20, Shannon Hensley 0 0 0-0 0, T.J. Keith 4 0 0-0 8, Andy Colegrove 2 0 1-1 5, Zach Christensen 2 0 0-0 4, Dustin Green 5 0 3-5 13, Drew Kuehne 0 0 1-4 1, Jonathan Schweickart 1 0 0-0 2, Lukas Morris 0 0 0-0 0, Bub Johnson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-44

16-27

63. 3-point goals: 1-7. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 8-22=30 (Miller 10, A. Carter 8). Assists: 18 (Miller 6, A. Carter 4, Kuehne 4). Steals: 7 (Miller 3, A. Carter 3). Turnovers: 19. Blocked shots: 3 (Keith 2, Morris 1).

RESERVES: Ironton 37, Gallipolis 31. Ironton leading scorers: Dave Crossan 10, Cory McKnight 10, Brandon Klaiber 8, Byron Brammer 4, Seth Kuehne 3, Lukas Morris 2. Gallipolis: Quint Nibert 11, Nick Stevens 8.