Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

Either no one wanted to win or no one wanted to lose. Either way, it was a classic battle.
The Coal Grove Hornets outlasted the Ironton Fighting Tigers 67-64 in three overtimes on Tuesday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.
Both teams are now 9-4 overall and tied for second in the OVC at 4-2.
“It was a physical game and we didn’t take care of the inside of the game. We had a couple of late turnovers that kind of sealed the game,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.
“We said the league was going to be like this. Their game plan they executed well. We were impatient on offense.”
The game was tie at 49 after regulation, 51 after the first overtime and57 after the second OT.
Ironton had three critical turnovers in the third overtime and the Hornets went 6-of-12 at the foul line in the period. The Fighting Tigers had 21 turnovers for the game to just 11 for the Hornets.
The lead changed hands three times in the first quarter. Jordan Grizzle hit a 3-pointer for Ironton and Nate Harmon for Coal Grove to tie the game at 10.
But an 18-footer by Charlie Large, a layup by Ethan Wilson and a baseline jumper by Large gave Ironton a 14-10 lead to end the quarter.
Reid Carrico’s layup put Ironton’s lead at 16-10 to start the second quarter only to have Evan Holmes score inside and Aaron Music hit two foul shots to get the Hornets within 16-14.
Carrico and Ayden Barnes got baskets to give Ironton a 20-14 lead at the 5:27 mark, but Coal Grove went on a 10-0 run with Jaylen McKenzie and Music hitting 3-pointers to key the scoring spurt.
Ironton cut the deficit to 29-28 on a trey by Large only to have Harmon’s tip-in put Coal Grove ahead 31-28 at the break.
Large hit a 19-footer that gave Ironton its first lead since midway through the second quarter, but McKenzie’s putback gave the Hornets a 35-34 lead.
Cory Borders then drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put Coal Grove up 43-36 with 2:04 left in the third quarter.
Music followed up a missed shot and it was 45-36 when Ironton got two foul shots from Large and a layup by Wilson to make it 45-40 at the end of the quarter.
Ironton finally tied the game on a layup by Grizzle after a steal by Large with 2:20 on the clock.
Ironton had a chance to win at the buzzer but Carrico’s layup came just after the clock hit zero.
Coal Grove had four players in double figures as Music scored 23, Borders 16, McKenzie 12 and Harmon 11.
Large had a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds for Ironton with Wilson getting 15 points and four assists while Carrico got 11 points and 15 rebounds.
On Friday, Ironton goes to Portsmouth and Coal Grove visits South Point.
Coal Grove 10 21 14 4 2 6 10 = 67
Ironton 14 14 12 9 2 6 7 = 64
COAL GROVE (9-4, 4-2): Aaron Music 6 1 8-12 23, Cory Borders 2 3 3-4 16, Evan Gannon 0 0 0-0 0, Jaylen McKenzie 4 0 4-6 12, Nate Harmon 4 1 0-0 11, Payten Smith 1 0 1-5 3, Evan Holmes 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 23-59 16-27 67. 3-pt goals: 5-23. Rebounds: 11-O, 19-D = 30 (McKenzie 8, Music 7, Harmon 7). Team/deadball rebounds: 5. Assists: 7 (Music 2). Steals: 8 (Music 4, McKenzie 2). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Harmon (3OT 3:29).
IRONTON (9-4, 4-2): Ethan Wilson 4 0 7-8 15, Jordan Grizzle 1 1 0-0 5, Reid Carrico 5 0 1-2 11, Charlie Large 4 2 3-5 27, Ayden Barnes 2 0 0-0 4, Trent Milleson 1 0 0-0 2, Hunter Humphreys 0 0 0-0 0, Collin Freeman 0 0 0-0 0, Erickson Barnes 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-60 11-15 64. 3-pt goals: 3-13. Rebounds: 15-O, 26-D = 41 (Carrico 15, Large 10). Team/deadball rebounds: 2. Assists: 6 (Wilson 4). Steals: 3 (Grizzle, Freeman, Large). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 25. Fouled out: Milleson (4th 1:44), A. Barnes (3OT 0:58), Wilson (3OT 0:35).