Chance Short
chance.short@irontontribune.com

PROCTORVILLE — The Ironton Fighting Tigers traveled to Proctorville to take on the Fairland Dragons in hopes of keeping their record undefeated.
Fairland, coming off a 55-54 loss to Fort Frye, was on fire early and taking their frustrations of their last game out on the Tigers in a 62-38 win Friday.
“We came out a little flat in the third quarter just being careless with the ball, but overall I liked our ball movement and defensively I thought we were good all night,” said Fairland coach Nathan Speed. “We made a lot of hustle plays, diving on the floor, and talking defensively.”
The Dragons (4-1, 3-0) drilled three 3-pointers in the first quarter and took an early 15-2 lead. The Tigers shot just 1-of-10 in the first quarter, struggling to get open shots.
Ironton (1-1, 1-1) found a bit of a rhythm offensively in the second quarter by Trent Hacker, who scored 6 points out of his 12 points on the night. But the Fighting Tigers still trailed 33-13 at the break.
“We have several seniors that play really hard, but we also have some young guys in there as well. We started the game worried about mentality—Just believing that we can compete and play with a team as talented as Fairland,” said Ironton coach P.J. Fitch.
“But we made some adjustments to the lineup in the second half and I thought we competed.”
The lineup adjustment worked in coach’s favor as the Fighting Tigers outscored the Dragons in the third quarter 13-7.
Aaron Masters was one of the players to start the third quarter for Fitch, and he brought a spark on both ends of the floor. He finished the game with 8 points and a steal.
After outscoring the Dragons in the third quarter, Ironton still trailed 40-26. Fairland stepped back on the gas in the final quarter behind Aiden Porter’s 14 points in the period. The junior guard scored a game-high 25 points and added 6 rebounds as well.
Clayton Thomas and Jacob Polcyn tallied 13 points apiece.
“Moving forward, we aren’t as skilled offensively as a team like that, so we have to play old fashioned gritty basketball from here on out—getting a shot contest every time, all five guys boxing out, and work to get a good shot offensively,” Fitch closed with. Ironton will have a little break before playing a make-up game against South Point on Jan. 2.
Fairland will play a make-up game as well next Wednesday at home against Portsmouth.
Ironton 2 11 13 12 = 38
Fairland 15 18 7 22 = 62
IRONTON (1-1, 1-1): Landen Wilson 0-2 1-2 0-0 2, Trent Hacker 0-0 6-15 0-0 12, Aaron Masters 2-4 1-2 0-0 8, Terrence West 0-1 4-8 0-5 8, Blake Porter 0-0 1-3 0-1 2, Erickson Barnes 0-4 0-2 3-4 3, Tayden Carpenter 0-0 0-3 1-2 1, Braxton Pringle 0-0 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 14-48 4-12 38. 3-pt goals: 2-11.
Fairland (4-1, 2-0): Jacob Polcyn 2-2 3-3 1-1 13, Aiden Porter 1-4 10-15 2-3 25, Gavin Hunt 0-1 1-2 0-0 2, Clayton Thomas 3-8 1-2 2-2 13, Zander Schmidt 2-4 1-1 1-3 9. Totals: 24-42 6-9 62. 3-pt goals: 8-19.