Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

In golf, you get one mulligan. In basketball, you’re lucky to get one mulligan and you definitely can’t have two.

Ironton tried to get by with a couple of short bad stretches but Columbus South would have nothing to do with it as the Bulldogs rallied in the fourth quarter during a second bad stretch and pulled away from the Fighting Tigers 54-44 on Saturday.

South (14-6) took a 19-12 first quarter lead thanks mainly to the hot shooting of Tamal Watkins who hit his first three shots and scored 11 of his 13 points. Three of his baskets were 3-pointers.

Ironton (9-8) came back in the second quarter behind Joe Bowling and Tristan Cox to get within 27-23 at the break.

“The kids played great, but with a team like South you can’t miss shots like that,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

“You can handle one bad spurt, but you can’t handle two bad spurts. We had the one early and we were able to recover, but the one at the end was the killer.”

A layup by Marques Davis off a pass from Desmond Young got Ironton within 27-25 to begin the third quarter.

A 3-point play by Duane Findley put South up 32-26 at the 6:27 mark, but a layup and baseline jumper by Cox gave Ironton a 39-37 lead with 2:24 on the clock.

Layups by Daeshawn Thompson-Green and Daevon Taylor put the Bulldogs back on top, but Phillip Kratzenberg drained a 3-ball with 41 seconds left and Ironton took a 42-41 lead into the fourth quarter.

Thompson-Green and Sayvon Thompson each hit 3-pointers to begin the fourth quarter as South regained the lead for good at 47-42 with 6:12 to go.

Ironton then hit its second bad spurt or, more appropriately, sputter. The Fighting Tigers missed six shots at point-blank range in the lane.

Kratzenberg finally hit a shot from the middle of the lane with 58 seconds left that made it 47-44. The basket proved to be Ironton’s only points of the quarter.

Ironton was forced to foul and South converted 6 of 9 free throws over the final 45 seconds to seal the win.

Ironton made just one of 13 field goal attempts in the quarter finished 19 of 48 for the game.

Cox had 16 points and six rebounds, Bowling added 9 points and five rebounds while Dylan Malone pulled down 10 rebounds.

Watkins’ 13 points led South. Thompson-Green and Sayvon Thompson added 9 points each and Lamont Broomfield had six rebounds.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Ironton (9-8).

“These kids are down. They played hard and never once gave up on themselves. They wanted to win this game,” said LaFon.

“But they played great and they battled a good Division II team. We just have to bounce back.”

The Fighting Tigers host Wheelersburg on Tuesday.

Col. South 19 8 14 13 = 54

Ironton 12 11 19 2 = 44

COLUMBUS SOUTH (14-6): Marquez Hargrove1 0 2-2 4, Tamal Watkins 1 3 2-2 13, Duane Findley 1 0 2-3 4, Lamont Broomfield 3 0 1-4 7, Daevon Taylor 3 0 12- 7, Dajour Taylor 0 0 1-2 1, Daeshawn Thompson-Green 2 1 2-2 9, Sayvon Thompson 1 2 1-2 9, Trayvon Thompson 0 0 0-0 0, Quayshawn Long 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-35 12-19 54. 3-point goals: 6-10. Rebounds: 7-off. 16-def. = 23 (Broomfield 6). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 6 (Hargrove 2). Steals: 4 (Dae. Taylor 2). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (9-8): Phillip Kratzenberg 1 1 0-0 5, Joe Bowling 4 0 1-2 9, Tristan Cox 5 2 0-0 16, Marques Davis 3 0 0-0 6, Desmond Young 0 0 0-0 0, Tanner Price 0 0 1-2 1, Dylan Malone 3 0 1-1 7, Raphael Glover 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-48 3-5 44. 3-point goals: 3-11. Rebounds: 13-off. 15-def. = 28 (Malone 10, Cox 6, Bowling 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 10 (Bowling 3, Kratzenberg 2, Cox, 2). Steals: 3 (Bowling 2). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Young (4th 0:31), Kratzenberg (4th 0:21).