Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

The Ironton Fighting Tigers were showing signs of being tired from the previous night’s game against powerhouse Columbus Whitehall.

They were even more tired of losing.

Ironton battled through its fatigue and beat the Greenfield McClain Tigers 50-34 in the second day of the 10th annual Classic.

Having played Fairland, Gallipolis, Ashland and Whitehall in succession, the young Fighting Tigers were hungry for a win.

“We did need a win. They are disappointed with our record. I feel like those kids want to get better. The process is slow. But they come to practice excited and reset and ready to go every day,” said LaFon.

Ironton (2-5) was led by Charlie Large — the player of the game — with 14 points and six rebounds. Reid Carrico with 10 points and nine rebounds and Trent Milleson had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench as Carrico battled foul trouble.

“Reid — for a young man — is playing aggressive. Charlie played with energy. Our two young guards (Ryan Payne and Collin Freeman) did a solid job,” said LaFon.

Devin Carter had 16 points and five rebounds and was named the player of the game for McClain (2-6).

A trifecta by Ethan Wilson gave Ironton an 11-4 lead. Layups by Garrison Banks and Carter cut the spread to 11-8 but Large made a layup off a nice pass from Wilson and it was 13-8 at the end of the quarter.

The scoring slowed in the second quarter but Ironton got triples form Wilson and Large and a layup by Hunter Humphreys to lead 21-10. Ethan Cockerill hit a 15-footer with 1:13 on the clock and McClain was within 21-12 at the half.

Ironton’s defense continued in the third quarter by hold McClain to five points.

A putback and layup by Large opened up a 27-12 lead and a layup by Large with 1:35 left in the quarter made it 33-16. Dakota Irvin made a foul shot before the end of the quarter for McClain.

A layup by Carrico gave Ironton a 41-25 lead with 3:42 to play and back-to-back layup by Ethan Adkins and Milleson extended the cushion to 45-28 with under three minutes to play.

Ironton hosts Huntington, W.Va., on Thursday.

McClain          8          4          5          17        =          34

Ironton            13        8          12        17        =          50

GREENFIELD McCLAIN (2-6): Kobe Penwell 0 0 3-5 3 Dakot Duncan 1 0 2-6 4, Devin Carter 5 2 0-0 16, Landree Gray 0 0 0-0 0, Garrison Banks 3 0 0-0 6, Gabi Chiossi 0 0 0-0 0, Dakota Irvin 1 0 1-2 3, Trevor Newkirk 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-51 6-14 34. 3-pt goals: 2-20. Rebounds: 9-O, 15-D = 24 (Carter 5). Team rebounds: 5. Assists: 1. Steals: 6 (Banks 2, Carter 2). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (2-5): Ethan Wilson 0 1 2-2 5, Kyle Adkins 0 1 1-2 3, Charlie Large 4 2 0-0 14, Hunter Humphreys 1 0 2-2 4, Reid Carrico 5 0 0-0 10, Ryan Payne 0 0 1-2 1, Trent Milleson 3 0 4-4 10, Ayden Barnes 0 0 0-0 0, Collin Freeman 0 0 0-1 0, Ethan Adkins 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 18-44 10-13 50. 3-pt goals: 4-12. Rebounds: 12-O, 32-D = 44 (Carrico 9, Wilson 7, Milleson 6, Large 6). Team rebounds: 5. Assists: 6 (Wilson 3). Steals: 6 (Payne 2, Wilson 2). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.