By JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The Christmas break couldn’t come at a better moment for the Ironton Fighting Tigers

Jammed with a bunch of games in a short time to start the season, Ironton felt the wear and tear in a 61-57 loss to the Huntington High Highlanders on Thursday in the annual Ironton Classic.

“We’ve played five games in 12 days with another game on Friday, so I think we’re a little tired,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

“But Huntington is a good team. Their offensive rebounding and foul shooting killed us. We had a great effort. The kids never quit and played hard to the last second.”

Ashton Layne and Shaun Terry scored 6 points each as Ironton took a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.

The lead changed hands 5 times in the second quarter with Layne’s layup with 4:08 left in the half the final Ironton lead at 19-18.

Huntington went on an 11-0 run to lead 29-19 after a putback by Tayveon Wilson. Ironton ended the run on a layup by Bailey Thacker with 48 seconds on the clock and it was 29-21 at the break.

Ironton came back strong in the third quarter and took a 37-35 lead on a tip-in by Thacker and then Braden Schreck’s layup with 11 seconds left in the quarter gave the Fighting Tigers a 39-35 lead.

Although Ironton played well in the fourth quarter, the Highlanders played a little better.

A layup by Wilson put Huntington up 42-41 and they never trailed the rest of the game.

Ironton got with 57-55 with 18 second left to play on a tip-in by Thacker, but Mikey Johnson went 4-for-4 at the foul line over the next 9 seconds make it 61-55. Schreck’s tip-in before the buzzer set the final score.

A key factor came at the foul line where Ironton was just 4-of-10 and Huntington went 12-of-18.

Schreck scored 16 pints and Layne 12 to pace Ironton (4-1). Jayden Clark had 17 points with Johnson and Wilson getting 14 each for Huntington ((2-2).

Huntington 12 17 6 26 = 61

Ironton     13 8 18 18 = 57

HUTINGTON (2-2): Malachi Faulk 0 0 0-0 0, Mikey Johnson 4 0 6-6 14, Avonte Crawford 0 1 2-4 5, Tavium Chandler 3 1 1-2 10, Jayden Clark 6 1 2-4 17, Isaiah Lapsley 0 0 0-0 0, Tayveon Wilson 7 0 1-2 14. Totals: 23-55 12-18 61.3-pt goals: 3-15. Rebounds: O-14, D-26 = 40. Assists: 5. Steals: 4. Blocks; 7. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (4-1): Shaun Terry 5 0 2-3 12, Bailey Thacker 3 0 1-2 7, Bryce Markins 0 1 0-0 3, Tyler Roach 0 0 0-0 0, Markel Cotton 2 1 0-0 7, Braden Schreck 6 1 1-4 16, Ashton Layne 6 0 0-1 12. Totals: 25-68 4-10 57. 3-pt goals: 3-20. Rebounds: O-14, D-18 = 32 (Thacker 15, Terry 8, Layne 5). Assists: 12 (Terry 5, Schreck 4). Steals: 9 (Terry 4, Layne 3). Blocks: 4 (Layne 2). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Cotton (4th 1:05).