Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

Turnovers proved to be the turning point.

Coal Grove had 19 turnovers including four key mistakes in the final two minutes that proved to be too much for the Hornets to overcome as the North Adams Green Devils held on for a 64-58 win Saturday in the fifth annual Ironton Classic.

“We had some big turnovers at the end and we missed some free throws,” said Hornets’ coach Jay Lucas. “We had opportunities to do some damage and we didn’t take advantage of them.”

Coal Grove battled back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to actually take a 52-49 lead with 5:38 left on two foul shots by Isaiah Gunther.

North Adams tied the game at 54-54 on a short runner by Sheridan Carroll with 3:30 left. The Devils took the lead for good with 2:36 left on a put-back by Kris King.

Coal Grove made four unforced errors that allowed North Adams to go up 62-54 including two free throws each by Sheridan and King.

A layup by Alex Bare with 32 seconds left snapped the 10-0 run, but the Hornets could get no closer than 62-58 on a layup by Bare with 13 seconds to go.

“The kids played hard. My gosh they played hard. Red Pleasants had a real good game on both ends. We just need him to build on that. Alex did a nice job. He’s just a good athlete,” said Lucas.

Bare finished with 18 points and 4 steals. Brandon Adkins had 9 points and 7 rebounds and Conor Markins 9 points and 6 rebounds for the Hornets (4-2).

King had 18 points and 15 rebounds for North Adams (4-4). David Gardner hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Carroll added 12 points.

There were four lead changes in the first quarter. The Devils led 34-24 with 1:58 left in the half after back-to-back treys by King and Gardner. Bare’s layup and a free throw by Jonathan Joseph got the Hornets within 34-27 at the half.

Carroll and Andrew Mitchell scored to start the second half and put the Devils up 38-27 at the 6:01 mark, but Coal Grove got big 3-pointers from Bare and Gunther to trail 45-40 and a layup before the buzzer by Joe Akers cut the deficit to 47-44.

Coal Grove took the lead to start the fourth quarter on 3-pointers by Markins and Sean Paulus, but North Adams was able to regroup and take advantage of the Hornets’ five turnovers in the quarter.

Coal Grove will host the Dr. Paulus Heart of Champions Classic on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, the Lady Hornets play Lincoln County at 5 p.m. followed by St. Joseph and Greenup County and then Coal Grove and Raceland.

On Friday, St. Joseph girls and the Lady Hornets play at 5 p.m. followed by St. Joseph and Raceland and Coal Grove and Greenup County.

Coal Grove 17 10 17 14 = 58

North Adams 16 18 13 17 = 64

COAL GROVE (4-2): Alex Bare 7 1 1-4 18, Sean Paulus 0 2 2-2 8, Brandon Adkins 2 1 2-3 9, Conor Markins 1 2 1-2 9, Austin Pleasants 2 0 0-0 4, Isaiah Gunther 1 1 2-2 7, Joe Akers 1 0 0-0 2, Jonathan Joseph 0 0 1-2 1, Trevor Barrett 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-52 9-14 58. 3-point goals: 7-25. Rebounds: 13-18=31 (Adkins 7, Markins 6). Team rebounds: 3. Assists: 9 (Gunther 4). Steals: 9 (Bare 4, Adkins 3). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: None.

NORTH ADAMS (4-4): Sheridan Carroll 4 0 4-5 12, Kris King 5 2 2-3 18, Andrew Mitchell 2 0 2-2 6, Seth Sparks 2 0 2-4 6, Davis Shipley 1 0 2-3 4, Will Leasure 2 0 0-0 4, Hank Sparks 0 0 0-0 0, David Gardner 4 0 2-2 14. Totals: 22-45 14-19 64. 3-point goals: 6-15. Rebounds: 7-24=31 (King 15). Team rebounds: 1. Assists: 5 (Mitchell 3). Steals: 6. Turnovers: 17. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.