The Rock Hill Redmen didn’t take many shots from the field the second half, and were just 7-of-14 from the foul line the fourth quarter.

Friday, December 17, 1999

The Rock Hill Redmen didn’t take many shots from the field the second half, and were just 7-of-14 from the foul line the fourth quarter.

But two key free throws by Brian Tennant with 11 seconds to play gave Rock Hill a 49-46 lead, and a key foul shot by David Schug with just under two seconds to play sealed the win as Rock Hill edged the Ironton Fighting Tigers 50-46 Thursday night at the Ironton Sports Center.

"Tennant hit two big free throws and Schug hit a big free throw. We hit big shots when we had to have them. The young kids did a nice job defensively," Redmen coach Rick Scarberry said.

There were several occasions throughout the game that Rock Hill needed a key basket and senior point guard Brent McCoy rose to the occasion, especially with two clutch 3-point goals.

"McCoy did a good job defensively and running the team. He hit some big shots for us," Scarberry said.

McCoy and Tennant finished with 14 points each and Tennant had 11 rebounds for the Redmen, 2-2.

Ironton (1-2) was led by Jason Harmon with 12 points and Michael Henry scored 10. Jimmy Peyton grabbed 11 rebounds and Henry pulled down eight.

Coach Chris Barnes looked at Ironton’s woeful 17-for-54 shooting performance – 31.5 percent – and shook his head.

"We just don’t have any legs," said Barnes. "We were worried about getting tired Tuesday night (at South Point), but it showed up tonight. It’ll be even worse tomorrow (Friday) night. I don’t know how many open shots and layups we missed. We’ve got to get into shape in a hurry."

McCoy’s 3-pointer early put Rock Hill up 5-2 and it held the lead until the second quarter when Henry’s two free throws gave Ironton a 13-12 lead with 5:48 left in the half.

Tanner Heaberlin and Nate Lambert scored back-to-back to give the Redmen the lead at 16-13. Ryan McClellan’s 3-pointer tied the score and then a 3-pointer by McCoy keyed a 9-0 run that put Rock Hill up 25-16 at the 2:35 mark.

Two foul shots by McCoy and three by Tennant gave Rock Hill its biggest lead of the game at 30-19.

Harmon’s 3-pointer made it 30-22, but McCoy came through with a driving layup with five seconds left and Rock Hill was up 32-22 at the break.

Ironton got within 32-26 to start the second half only to have Rock Hill go back on top by 10 before Drew Mains drained a 12-footer and the Fighting Tigers trailed 39-31 at the end of the quarter.

Two straight baskets by Josh Harmon closed the gap to 39-35 and the battle was on.

Jason Harmon had a steal and layup, then got another layup with 3:30 left to draw Ironton within 44-42.

David Large lived up to his name as he came up big for the Redmen with a lay at the 2:36 mark and Rock Hill led 46-42. Josh Harmon answered with a baseline jumper and it was 46-44.

Tennant made the second of two foul shots with 26 seconds left for a 47-44 lead. Jason Harmon’s 3-point attempt with 14 seconds to go was just short and Tennant was fouled on the rebound.

Tennant and Schug then hit their foul shots to preserve the win.

Ironton hosts Fairland Friday night. Rock Hill goes to Northwest Saturday.