By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

The Ironton Fighting Tigers might need to set their alarm clock 45 minutes earlier.

Ironton got off to a slow start, then picked up the defensive pressure in the second half and rolled past the Columbus Horizon Science Academy Hawks 80-54 on Saturday at the Ironton Shootout.

Ironton (12-3) led just 38-34 at the half, then blitzed the Hawks 19-7 in the third quarter and were never in trouble the rest of the way.

“We played better the second half. We didn’t have the intensity I wanted,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

“They didn’t do one thing that surprised me. We didn’t play good team defense. We kept playing individual one-on-one defense.”

Zac Carter had 24 points to lead three Ironton players in double figures. Trey Fletcher scored 17 and Trevor White had 13 off the bench.

Antonio Blount scored a game-high 26 for the Hawks (7-5). Julian Johnson had 15 and Elijah Mills added 11.

Horizon hit four 3-point goals in the first quarter including a shot by Johnson to tie the game at 16. White made two foul shots and Ironton led 18-16 at the end of the quarter.

Ironton went on an 8-2 run to start the second quarter and led 26-18. Mills hit a triple and Johnson a layup to get Horizon within 33-6. Carter’s trifecta put the lead at 38-28but the Hawks scored the final six points of the half and trailed 38-34.

Mills’s 3-pointer and a put-back by Blount got the Hawks within 41-39 to start the second half, but the Fighting Tigers close the quarter with 14 unanswered points to build at 57-41 cushion.

Ironton scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter capped by Aaron Stephens’ layup and the lead ballooned to 64-41. Stevens and Joe Bowling scored six points each in the quarter as Ironton put up its largest point total of the season.

Ironton hosts Russell, Ky., on Tuesday.

Horizon 16 18 7 13 = 54

Ironton 18 20 19 23 = 80

HORIZON SCIENCE (7-5): Julian Johnson 3 2 3-4 15, TyWaine Fain 0 0 0-0 0, Antonio Blount 8 2 4-5 26, Damani Barnes 1 0 0-0 2, Elijah Mills 1 3 0-0 11, Richard Wilson 0 0 0-0 0, Cody Jude 0 0 0-0 0, Devinci Hill 0 0 0-0 0, Almonti Sanka 0 0 0-0 0, Dionte Frazier 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-61 7-10 54. 3-point goals: 7-23. Rebounds: 8-10=18 (Blount 6). Assists: 5 (Johnson 2). Steals: 9 (Wilson 2, Fain 2, Blount 2). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (12-3): Zac Carter 5 2 8-8 24, Trey Fletcher 7 1 0-0 17, Nolan Johnson 1 0 2-2 4, Dion Brown 3 0 0-1 6, Josh Glover 1 0 0-0 2, Aaron Stephens 3 0 0-0 6, Trevor White 4 5-7 13, Darrius Boykin 0 0 0-0 0, Nate Garred 1 0 0-0 2, Joe Bowling 3 0 0-0 6, Sean Lawless 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-52 15-18 80. 3-point goals: 3-8. Rebounds: 9-31=40 (Brown 11, Johnson 7). Assists: 12 (Carter 6). Steals: 7 (Brown 2). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.