By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

SPRING VALLEY, W.Va. — Just when the Ironton Fighting Tigers were playing hard, coach Mark LaFon had them play a little harder.

And the harder the Fighting Tigers played the harder they made it on the Spring Valley Timberwolves as Ironton rolled to a 62-42 win on Saturday.

“I told them one of things that has to get better is the effort. I didn’t think we were playing hard enough. I thought we could play harder,” said LaFon. “I thought we played very hard. We only gave up 22 points over two and a half quarters.”

Ironton (10-2) trailed 12-10 at the end of the first quarter, but the offense caught fire in the second quarter triggering the defense to get even tougher.

Zac Carter — who failed to hit a 3-pointer in a loss at Greenup County on Tuesday — drained a trifecta to start the second quarter and 12 unanswered points.

A dunk by Trevor White capped the run as Ironton took the lead for good at 22-12 with 4:20 left in the half.

After a 19-footer by the T-wolves Eli Parker, Carter hit another triple and Trey Fletcher followed with his own slam dunk and the lead was 27-14.

Carter scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to snap a three-game shooting slump.

LaFon said there was no real problem with Carter’s shooting.

“He was hurrying himself and not setting his feet,” said LaFon.

Ironton held Spring Valley to 6 points in the quarter and 8 in the third quarter.

Leading 29-18 at the half, Ironton outscored the T-wolves 8-2 to begin the second half and go up 37-21.

A 3-pointer by Darrius Boykin and a layup by Fletcher extended the lead to 42-23 and it was 45-2 at the end of the quarter.

Ironton’s biggest lead was 60-31 after a pair of free throws by White in the fourth quarter.

Fletcher finished with 19 points and White had 12 off the bench.

“(Fletcher and White) played solid inside. When they’re locked in, they’re hard to handle. You add Dion (Brown) and that’s a tough group in there,” said LaFon.

Parker led Spring Valley (2-5) with 14 points.

The Fighting Tigers play at rival Portsmouth on Tuesday in a game that has tournament seeding implications.

Ironton 10 19 16 17 = 62

Spring Valley 12 6 8 16 = 42

IRONTON (10-2): Zac Carter 4 2 8-8 22, Trey Fletcher 9 0 1-2 19, Trevor White 4 0 4-5 12, Dion Brown 2 0 0-0 4, Nolan Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Glover 0 0 0-0 0, Darrius Boykin 0 1 0-0 3, Aaron Stephens 1 0 0-1 2, Tanner Dutey 0 0 0-0 0, Nate Garred 0 0 0-0 0, Sean Lawless 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-42 13-16 62. 3-point goals: 3-11. Rebounds: 5-13=18 (White 6, Brown 4). Assists: 16 (Carter 6, Johnson 3, Glover 3). Steals: 13 (Carter 5, Fletcher 3), Glover 3). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None.

SPRING VALLEY (2-5): Eli Parker 6 0 2-2 14, Jacob Campbell 3 0 0-1 6, Elijah Campbell 1 0 4-8 6, Austin Keyser 1 1 0-0 5, Greg Herbert 1 0 1-4 3, Dana Maynard 1 0 0-2 2, Sam Brody 1 0 0-0 2, Jacob Kilgore 2 0 0-0 4, Colton Brewer 0 0 0-0 0, Joshua Steele 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Robertson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-40 7-17 42. 3-point goals: 1-11. Rebounds: 9-11=20 (Parker 6, Campbell 6). Assists: 7 (Campbell 2). Steals: 4. Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.