By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

Patience is a virtue that must be learned.

The Ironton Fighting Tigers are still learning.

Ironton had to overcome its impatience as the Fighting Tigers beat the Gallipolis Blue Devils 53-45 Tuesday.

“Gallipolis did a good job of slowing the pace of the game. They had one possession they kept the ball on their end for two and a half to three minutes,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

“We would get a steal or rebound a missed shot and then get in a hurry on the other end and take a bad shot or shoot too quick or throw the ball away because we were in such a hurry. We have to learn how to play fast but under control.”

Ironton (10-5) also had a problem at the foul line. The Fighting Tigers converted just 16 of 29 attempts.

“We have to make foul shots if we want to put teams away. We’re not doing that,” said LaFon.

“I’m no shot doctor. I just know to keep shooting a lot of foul shots in practice. We run suicides if we miss, we make a game out of it, we do all kinds of things to try and improve. I’m open to suggestions.”

After playing to a 10-all tie the first quarter, Ironton took a 14-10 lead to start the second quarter only to have Gallipolis tie the game at 15 on a short jumper by Ethan Moore with 1:30 left in the half.

Malcolm Morton answered with a trifecta for Ironton and Zac Carter stole the ball and raced to the other end for a layup and it was 20-15 at the break.

The Fighting Tigers appeared to be on the verge of blowing the game open when Trevor White made a layup and Carter sank a foul shot for a 30-22 lead at the 4:08 mark of the third quarter.

The Blue Devils (5-9) got within 35-31 on a triple by Moore but Morton’s foul shot made it 36-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Fighting Tigers built their biggest lead of the game when White made two foul shots and got a putback followed by two free throws by Carter and it was 48-38 with 3:45 left.

Bryce Amos’ layup with 1:07 left cut the gap to 50-44 but the Blue Devils would get no closer.

Carter led Ironton with 16 points. White had 12 points and nine rebounds while Travis Elliott had 10 points and seven boards.

Moore scored 16 for Gallipolis while Jared Golden and Amos had 10 each.

The Fighting Tigers play at Huntington High on Saturday. The freshman game has been cancelled and the junior varsity will begin at 5:45 p.m.

Gallipolis 10 5 16 14 = 45

Ironton 10 10 16 17 = 53

GALLIPOLIS (5-9): Austin Wilson 0 1 0-0 3, Ethan Moore 3 1 7-9 16, Bryce Amos 3 1 1-6 10, Tyler Eastman 1 1 1-2 6, Jared Golden 4 0 2-6 10, Ben Robinson 0 0 0-0 0, Joe Jenkins 0 0 0-0 0, Nick Saunders 0 0 0-0 0, Cody Billings 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-31 11-23 45. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 4-13. Rebounds: 6 offense, 16 defense = 22 (Eastman 7). Team/deadball rebounds: 6. Assists: 8 (Moore 4, Amos 3). Steals: 5 (Wilson 2). Turnovers: 16.

IRONTON (10-5): Malcolm Morton 1 1 1-7 6, Travis Elliott 3 0 4-4 10, Zac Carter 5 0 6-8 16, Trevor White 4 0 4-7 12, Trey Fletcher 4 0 0-1 8, Josh Murphy 0 0 1-2 1, Josh Glover 0 0 0-0 0, Nick Culbertson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-39 16-29 53. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None. 3-point goals: 1-5. Rebounds: 11offense, 17 defense = 28 (White 9, Elliott 7). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 8 (Morton 4, White 2). Steals: 10 (Carter 4, White 2, Elliott 2, Murphy 2). Turnovers: 13.