Fighting Tigers Get Shots To Fall in Tourney Win Over Hornets

IRONTON — We know that you know that we know what you know you’re going to do.

What?

Actually, it’s very simple. When the Ironton Fighting Tigers play, they know what to expect defensively from other teams.

Ironton sees the same defenses each game and it comes down to making shots. Friday night, Ironton made shots and turned in a strong defensive effort as they beat the Coal Grove Hornets in the Division 5 district tournament.

“We know what teams are going to try to do against us defensively. Rock Hill tried to do the same thing against us,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

“But against Rock Hill our defense didn’t show up. Here, our defense showed up the whole night. “They only had 20 points the whole first half. Owen (Johnson) is so dangerous you have to change up against him. He’s had a great career.”

Ironton (15-7) will now play Zane Trace (19-4) in the district semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Monday in the Waverly Downtown Arena.

Coal Grove (10-13) used a pair of foul shots by Brayden Klaiber to take a 10-5 first quarter lead.

Tyler Roach hit a 3-pointer, Braden Schreck made 2 foul shots and Ashton Layne hit a free throw as Ironton took an 11-10 lead to begin the second quarter. Johnson made a follow up shot to put the Hornets ahead  12-11, but Bryce Martins was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all 3 free throws as Ironton took the lead for good at 14-12.

A 3-pointer by Markins and a putback by Layne extended the lead to 23-16. A layup by Kody Harmon got Coal Grove within 2-20 before Schreck made a free throw with 2 seconds left in the half for a 26-20 halftime lead.

“We knew they’d make us work. Offensively, we just have to get going. We shot more threes at halftime than twos. That’s backwards. So, the second half we attacked the basket more,” said Barnes.

Judah Barnes hit a 3-pointer and then got a steal and made a layup and Ironton built a 35-20 lead with 4:15 left in the third quarter. Klaiber hit a 3-pointer and a short jumper to make it 35-25, but Maddix Markel made a layup and Roach drained a trifecta with 1:05 on the clock and Ironton surged to a 40-25 lead.

Schreck’s 3-point play to begin the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 43-25 and Ironton went ahead 49-32 when Markel made back-to-back layups.

“I thought our defense played great all night. Maddix Markel and Markel Cotton really picked us up,” said Barnes. “Braden (Schreck) is still not 100 percent, so instead of him carrying us like he usually does, we picked him up this time.”

Roach scored 10 points to lead a balanced Ironton offense. Layne scored9 while Barnes, Markel and Schreck had 8 points each.

Johnson scored 11 to lead the Hornets with Klaiber getting 9 points.

Johnson finished his career second on the Coal Grove all-time scoring list with 1,704 points. Chuck McKnight is the all-time leader with 1,782.

Coal Grove 10 10 5 11 = 36

Ironton  5 21 14 13 = 53

COAL GROVE (10-13): Noah Holmes 0 0 2-2 2, Bronson Guy 0 0 0-0 0, Rylan Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Brayden Klaiber 2 1 2-3 9, Bradley Klaiber 0 0 0-0 0, Peyton Bryant 0 0 0-0 0, Kody Harmon 2 0 0-0 4, Cameryn Chaffins 0 1 1-2 4, Jake Brammer 3 0 0-0 6, Owen Johnson 4 0 3-5 11, Kohen Shore 0 0 0-0 0, James Dome 0 0 0-0 0, Braden Schug 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-44 8-12 36. 3-pt goals: 2-11. Rebounds: 3-O 15-D = 18. Assists: 5. Steals: 5. Blocks: 1. Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 9, Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (15-7): Ashton Layne 3 0 3-4 9, Braylon Sturgill 0 0 0-0 0, Brayden Barker 0 0 0-0 0, Carson Freeman 0 0 0-0 0, Bryce Markins 0 1 3-3 6, Judah Barnes 1 2 0-0 8, Tyler Roach 2 2 0-0 10, Markel Cotton 1 0 2-2 4, Maddix Markel 4 0 0-0 8, Brycen Mullins 0 0 0-0 0, Braden Schreck 2 0 4-6 8. Totals: 18-43 12-15 53. 3-pt goals: 5-17. Rebounds: 4-O 23-D = 27 (Markel 9, Schreck 5, Layne 4). Assists: 14 (Schreck 5, Cotton 4). Steals: 5 (Barnes 2). Blocks: 2 (Layne, Markel). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.