ATHENS — It was a Rice Krispies kind of performance.

Michael Phillips supplied the pop while the defensive snap caused the Fort Frye Cadets’ offense to crackle as the Ironton Fighting Tigers cruised to a 62-45 win Wednesday in the Division III regional semifinals at Ohio University.

Phillips scored eight points — six in the first quarter — and had six rebounds to help spark an Ironton first half performance that held Fort Frye to just seven points and the Fighting Tigers built a commanding 33-7 lead at the break.

“I heard a big pop and it was Michael Phillips getting a rebound and putting back up the shot,” LaFon said. “He got us going with his aggressive play and we played very good defense against a good shooting team. We held them to seven points in a half. That’s pretty impressive.”

Phillips said his unusual role was part of the game plan.

“I was pinning my guy and they just gave me the ball,” Phillips said. “It was a good team effort. Everyone played well.”

Dennis Gagai led Ironton with 22 points including four 3-pointers. Marc Carter had 12 points and Brandon Walker 11 points and five rebounds.

“They were playing man-to-man. I felt I could get any shot I wanted,” Gagai said.

Fort Frye had been outrebounding opponents throughout the tournament. Ironton turned the tables by holding a commanding 38-21 advantage. Gagai had a career-high 13 rebounds and Walker five.

“Coach told us to hit the boards. Every game everyone has to step up,” Phillips said.

The Cadets (18-7) were led by Tyler Engle with 16 points but he was just 5 of 16 from the field. Tyler Ferguson had 11 points.

Two free throws by Engle gave Fort Frye a 2-0 lead, but Ironton took over from that point. Phillips made a layup, Walker a free throw and Gagai a trifecta and soon it was 17-5 at the end of the quarter.

Derek Thompson followed up a missed shot to begin the second quarter and it was 17-7. Ironton then went on a 16-0 run to finish the half and it was 33-7.

Walker had a putback to start the second half to complete the 18 unanswered points. A 3-pointer by Ferguson put the Cadets into double figures. Carter’s 12-footer opened up a 46-21 lead before a 19-footer by Engle just before the end of the quarter cut the deficit to 46-23.

Carter had two key assists to go with his running jump shot.

“When I made a mistake in the past I got down. Coach told me to be aggressive. I just try to stay positive,” Carter said.

Fort Frye could only get as close as 57-43 with 2:30 to play on a 3-pointer by Ferguson.

“It’s hard to keep the guys focused when you have that big of a lead,” LaFon said.

Gagai admitted the team didn’t have the same intensity in the second half.

“Everyone looked a the scoreboard and figures we had the game won. It’s not that we weren’t ready to play. Our help defensively was not there,” Gagai said.

Next up for Ironton is one of its biggest challenges. The underdog Fighting Tigers face Wheelersburg (22-2) in the regional finals at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Wheelersburg won a meeting earlier this season 67-58.

Ironton17161316=62

Fort Frye521622=45

IRONTON (19-5): Dennis Gagai 9-22 (4-9) 0-0 22, Alstan Carter 1-3 (0-0) 0-0 2, Marc Carter 5-6 (2-2) 0-0 12, Brandon Walker 4-7 (2-4) 1-2 11, Michael Phillips 4-7 (0-0) 0-0 8, T.J. Keith 0-0 (0-0) 2-2 2, Trevor Allen 1-2 (0-0) 1-2 3, Troy Allen 0-1 (0-1) 0-0 0, J.J. Johnson 0-1 (0-0) 0-0 0, Jared Murphy 1-1 (0-0) 0-0 2, Andy Colegrove 0-1 (0-0) 0-0 0, Drew Kuehne 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Zach Christensen 0-1 (0-0) 0-0 0, Nick Lewis 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Shannon Hensley 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0. Totals: 25-52

(8-17)

4-6

62. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 11-24=35 (Gagai 13, Phillips 6, Walker 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Assists: 9 (A. Carter 2, M. Carter 2, Troy Allen 2). Steals: 3 (Walker 1, Gagai 1, Trevor Allen 1). Turnovers: 11.

FORT FRYE (18-7): Tyler Engle 5-16 (3-11) 3-4 16, Tyler Ferguson 4-1 (3-8) 0-0 11, Derek Thieman 3-6 (1-4) 0-0 7, Mason Lang 0-1 (0-1) 0-0 0, Derek Thompson 1-4 (0-1) 0-0 2, Brandt Thieman 3-3 (1-1) 0-0 7, Tyler Stevens 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Saben Strahler 1-1 (0-0) 0-0 2, Kyle Hart 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0, Jarrod Arnold 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0. Totals: 17-45

(8-26)

3-4

45. Fouls: 7. Fouled out: None. Rebounds: 6-13=19 (Thompson 6, D. Thieman 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 2. Assists: 4 (Engle, Thompson, Engle, B. Thieman). Steals: 4 (D. Thieman, Engle, Lang, Strahler). Turnovers: 8.