Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

The Dynamic Duo may just be the Three Amigos.

With Ironton’s top two scorers Zac Carter and Trey Fletcher sitting out almost two quarters, Trevor White and some key play by the reserves helped the Fighting Tigers beat the Akron Buchtel Griffins 73-64 Saturday in the Ironton Hall of Fame Shootout.

Carter picked up two quick fouls and Fletcher was also on the bench midway through the first quarter and neither returned until the middle of the third quarter.

White took over and scored 9 of his 15 points in the first half and got the other 6 in the third quarter. He also led all rebounders with 10.

“We had our two leaders off the floor and Trevor White and the second unit held it together,” said Ironton assistant coach Greg Arden who was handling the post-game with head coach Mark LaFon attending the Hall of Fame induction reception.

Carter came back to make 11 of 12 free throws attempts in the second half and finished with 21 points. Fletcher scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.

Demonte Hicks and Deric Rucker scored 11 points each and Lemontre’ Smith had 10 points for Buchtel (10-3).

Ironton led 12-6 on two foul shots by Carter with 1:56 left in the first quarter. Jharshon Graise hit a foul shot for the Griffins to end the quarter.

Buchtel was down 12-11 when White converted a 3-point play to make it 15-11. White’s short runner in the lane putthe lead at 21-17 but a 3-pointer by Jared Puryear closed the gap to 21-20.

Tristan Cox drained a trifecta at the 2:12 mark and Ironton led 26-22. But D’Angelo Smith made a layup to tie the game and Puryear hit another triple with nine seconds left to give Buchtel a 29-26 halftime lead.

White hit two straight baskets to start the second half and Stephens made two shots from close range and Ironton was up 34-29.

Rucker hit two shots to narrow the gap to 34-33 but Joe Bowling hit a trey and Ironton was up 37-33.

“That’s the first time this season Trevor had to step up with our two leaders off the floor and he really stepped up. Plus, (Aaron) Stephens hit the boards hard and Cox and Bowling hit a three at the right time,” said Arden.

Fletcher and Carter returned and combined for 12 points over the final four minutes of the third quarter. Carter made two technical foul free throws that gave Ironton a 53-43 lead at the end of the quarter.

“Buchtel forced the pace of the game. They gave us some early trouble. When Zac came back in he had fresh legs and he took it to the hole,” said Arden.

The Fighting Tigers led by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter. Buchtel went on a 7-0 run and trailed 66-61 with 3:01 left. Cater then converted 5 of 6 free throws and opened up a 71-61 lead with 1:03 left.

Carter was 9 of 10 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Ironton plays at Huntington, W.Va., on Tuesday. The freshman game begins at 4 p.m.

Buchtel 7 22 14 21 = 64

Ironton 12 14 27 20 = 73

AKRON BUCHTEL (10-3): Tyler Joens 4 0 0-0 8, Lemontre’ Smith 3 0 4-8 10, Elijah Bell 1 1 0-2 5, Demonte Hicks 0 2 5-6 11, Deric Rucker 4 1 0-0 11, Jharshon Graise 0 0 1-2 1, Sabie Cooper 4 0 0-0 8, Talen Jones 1 0 0-2 2, Ci’Andre Lollar-Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Antwon Henry 0 0 0-0 0, Jared Puryear 0 2 0-0 6, D’Angelo Smith 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 23-55 10-20 64. 3-point goals: 6-23. Rebounds: 7-14=21 (Cooper 4). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 5. Steals: 9 (Jones 3). Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Jones (4th 0:25).

IRONTON (12-2): Zac Carter 3 0 15-16 21, Josh Glover 1 0 0-2 2, Trevor White 7 0 1-3 15, Trey Fletcher 7 0 2-3 16, Aaron Stephens 3 0 0-0 6, Tristan Cox 0 1 1-2 4, Joe Bowling 0 1 2-2 5, Jake Long 1 0 2-2 4, Nate Garred 0 0 0-0 0, Isaac Sherman 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-44 23-30 73. 3-point goals: 2-5. Rebounds: 9-25=34 (White 10). Team rebound: 4.Assists: 11 (Bowling 3, White 3, Glover 3). Steals: 5. Turnovers: 26. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.