By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

COAL GROVE — As Hannibal Smith used to say in the old TV show The A-Team. “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Playing a Coal Grove team minus leading scorer Owen Johnson with a knee injury and having to play at Gallipolis on Saturday in a big league game, Ironton coach Chris Barnes had a plan.

Barnes wanted to play his bench a lot to rest starters and still get a win. Ironton was able to do that by beating the Hornets 64-43 in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Friday.

“We knew we had a makeup game with Gallia (Saturday) who is very good. We needed to get some young kids in the game which we did and we got to rest our top six or seven (players),” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

“So, mission accomplished.”

Ironton (3-2, 2-1) exploded out of the starting game with 16 unanswered points before Landon Davis got a layup at the 3:13 mark for the Hornets.

Ironton built a 20-2 lead before the Hornets closed the quarter with 5 points and it was 20-7.

The Fighting Tigers then went on a 13-2 run to start the second quarter and it was 33-11.

Another basket by Davis made it 33-13 but Ironton finished the quarter with Amari Felder and Braden Schreck making layups and Tayden Carpenter draining a 3-pointer and it was 42-13 at the half.

Ironton outscored the Hornets 12-4 in the third quarter as six different players scored including Carpenter who duplicated his second quarter feat by ending the third stanza with another 3-pointer and it was 52-17.

Ironton went to its bench in the fourth quarter and it must have stirred Dryzen Mullens who scored 13 straight points for the Hornets who cut the deficit to 60-32. John Turner and Kaden Murphy had layups before Markel Cotton sired for Ironton.

Turner hit a 3-pointer but Tyler Roach scored for Ironton and it was 64-39.

“I wasn’t happy with the fourth quarter with the young kids I told them we are looking for guys to help us,” said Barnes.

“They did a decent job. They can shoot the ball, but you can’t give up that many points. We gave up 17 in three quarters and they gave up 26 in the fourth quarter. That can’t happen. I told them if you’re going to play meaningful varsity minutes, you’ve got to be able to guard somebody. They’ll learn. They’re young.”

Ironton had 10 of its 11 players score led by Schreck with 13 points to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Shaun Terry had 10 points, Ethan Wilson 8 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ethan White and Carpenter had 5 rebounds each.

Mullens scored 13 points for the Hornets and had 5 rebounds. Karsen Frecka added 8 points.

Ironton     20 20 12 12 = 64

Coal Grove 9 4 4 26 = 43

IRONTON (4-3, 2-1): Lincoln Barnes 4 0 1-4 9, Shaun Terry 2 2 0-0 10 Landen Wilson 1 2 0-1 8 Braden Schreck 5 1 0-1 13, Ethan White 2 0 0-0 4 Amari Felder 1 0 0-0 2, Tayden Carpenter 0 2 0-0 6, Bryce Martins 0 1 0-0 3, Tyler Roach 2 0 0-0 4, Markel Cotton 1 1 0-0 5, Nick Sites 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-53 1-7 64. 3-pt goals: 9-21. Rebounds: 10-O, 20-D = 30 (White 5, Carpenter 5, Schreck 4, Barnes 4). Team/deadball rebounds: 6. Assists: 19 (Wilson 5, Felder 3, Schreck 3). Steals: 14 (White 3, Wilson 2, Barnes 2, Schreck 2, Markins 2). Blocks: 1 (White). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 12. Fouled out; None.

COAL GROVE (3-8, 2-4): Gavin Gipson 0 1 0-0 3, Landon Davis 3 0 0-0 6, Dryzen Mullens 1 3 2-2 13, Elijah Dillon 0 0 0-0 0, Kaden Turner 0 0 0-0 0, Karsen Frecka 3 0 2-3 8, Steven Simpson 1 0 0-1 2, John Turner 1 1 0-0 5, Luke Jenkins 1 0 0-0 2, Kaden Murphy 2 0 0-1 4. Totals: 17-37 4-7 43. 3-pt goals: 5-10. Rebounds: 3-O, 19-D = 22 (Mullens 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 7. Steals: 5 (Gipson 2). Blocks: 1 (Dillon). Turnovers: 20. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.