Hot Shots, Part Trey.

Not only did the Zanesville Blue Devils shoot the ball well from the short field, they also destroyed the 3-point goal barrier in a 77-41 win over the Ironton Fighting Tigers Friday in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game.

Zanesville was 30 of 45 from the field for 67 percent and 11 of 14 from behind the arc for 78.6 percent.

“It’s hard to stop a team that’s shooting that well and from long-range. Their coach told me after the game that they have never shot this well,” Ironton coach Mark LaFon said.

Conversely, Ironton was 12 of 38 from the floor for 31.6 percent and just 4 of 14 in the first half for 28.6 percent.

“We played hard, but we didn’t run our offense the first half. We didn’t get the shots we wanted,” LaFon said. “We did a better job of it in the second half.”

The Blue Devils, ranked second in the Division II Associated Press poll, took a 22-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and hit 8 of 11 shots in the second quarter including 5 of 7 from behind the arc to lead 43-16.

Dakota Matz and D.J. Harris each scored 11 in the first half including three trifectas apiece.

Ironton held only one lead at 4-3 and the game on baskets by Chad Miller and tied the game at 6-6 on a pair of foul shots by Tyler Shoemaker with 5:46 on the clock.

But it was all Zanesville after that. The Blue Devils led by as much as 75-32 with 6:24 to play in the game.

Shoemaker had 10 points, Miller 8 and Zach Christensen 7 to lead Ironton (8-4, 4-3).

The Blue Devils (11-0, 6-0) had four players in double figures as Cedric Harris and D.J. Harris scored 16 each, Matz 13 and Logan Aronhalt 11.

Ironton now must travel to South Division leader Chillicothe Tuesday. LaFon hopes for similar support the fans gave the players against Zanesville.

“I appreciate our fans. The came out to support the team and stayed until the end. I know it meant a lot to the players and our coaches,” LaFon said.

Zanesville22212311=77

Ironton881114=41

ZANESVILLE (11-0, 6-0): Logan Aronhalt 2 1 6-8 11, Kodey Haddox 0 3 0-0 9, Cedric Harris 8 0 0-0 16, Dakota Matz 2 3 0-1 13, D.J. Harris 2 4 0-0 16, Andre Harris 4 0 0-0 8, Mark Smart 0 0 0-0 0, Joe Prati 0 0 0-0 0, Shane Centers 1 0 0-0 2, Lucas Graham 0 0 0-0 0, Bryson Gillard 0 0 0-0 0, Brandon Mills 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 30-45

6-9

77. 3-point goals: 11-14. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None. Rebound: 8-20=28 (D. Harris 9, A. Harris 4, Haddox 4, Aronhalt 4). Team rebounds: 4. Assists: 8 (Haddox 2, Matz 2, D. Harris 2). Steals: 6. Blocked shots: 1 (D. Harris). Turnovers: 11.

IRONTON (8-4, 4-3): Alstan Carter 1 0 0-0 2, Tyler Shoemaker 1 1 5-6 10, T.J. Keith 0 0 2-4 2, Chad Miller 3 0 2-4 8, Andy Colegrove 0 0 0-0 0, Zach Christensen 1 1 2-2 7, Dustin Green 0 0 0-0 0, Shannon Hensley 0 0 0-0 0, Drew Kuehne 1 0 0-0 2, Bub Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Jonathan Schweickart 0 1 2-2 5. Totals: 12-38

13-18

41. 3-point goals: 4-12. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 6-11=17 (Miller 5, Keith 4, Shoemaker 3). Team rebounds: 1. Assists: 4 (Shoemaker 2). Steals: 5 (Miller 2). Blocked shots: 1 (Shoemaker). Turnovers: 12.

RESERVES: Zanesville 36, Ironton 30. Ironton scoring leaders: Jonathan Schweickart 12, Brandon Klaiber 11. Zanesville: Marcus Goins 10, Bryson Gillard 10.