Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

There is no truth that the Ironton Fighting Tigers’ took a tour of Sherwin-Williams as part of their game plan.

The Fighting Tigers were living in the paint and shot more than 70 percent of their shots in the paint as they beat the Columbus Centennial Stars 79-63 Saturday afternoon.

“We wanted to attack the paint,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon. “We knew they were very good with their perimeter defense, but we felt we could take the ball inside. And when you take the ball to the basket, you get better shots and you get fouled.”

Ironton did get fouled going to the basket and the Fighting Tigers made the Stars pay by converted 20 of 25 from the line including 12 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

Centennial was 23 of 63 from the floor including just 6 of 23 from behind the arc.

Ironton’s control of the boards was evident by a 46-32 advantage. The Fighting Tigers had 33 defensive rebounds to 21 for the Stars.

Zac Carter scored 31 points and Trey Fletcher had 27 points and 19 rebounds to lead Ironton (10-2). Trevor White added 9 points and turned in a dominating performance inside with his defense as well as grabbing 15 rebounds.

Elias “Boo” Osborne led Centennial (9-3) with 31 points. Conrad Stephens had 10 points and 14 rebounds.

The lead changed hands four times early and Centennial led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter.

A 3-pointer by Gyal Gyamerach gave the Stars their biggest lead of the game at 30-22 with 3:05 left in the half.

A put-back by Fletcher got Ironton within 31-29 at the break.

A triple by Osborne put Centennial ahead 34-31 early in the second half, but Ironton went on a 9-0 run capped by Carter’s trifecta at the 4:09 mark and the Fighting Tigers led 40-34.

Four free throws by Fletcher sandwiched around a 3-pointer by Osborne made it 49-43 and Josh Glover’s layup just before the buzzer extended the lead to 51-43.

“The last two minutes of the third quarter were the difference. That gave us the spark to get us over the hump,” said LaFon. “That was a good win for us.”

A short runner in the lane by Osborne got the Stars within 52-48 with 6:12 left. Ironton then went on a 9-3 run and a follow up shot of his own miss by White opened up a 61-51 lead.

Carter’s two free throws, a layup by Glover and two free throws by Darrius Boykin with 3:13 to go pushed the lead to 67-53.

Centennial got as close as 67-59 on a trey by Osborne with 2:28 to go. Carter then scored six straight points and a layup by Glover off a pass from Carter made it 75-59 at the 1:23 mark and virtually settled the outcome.

Ironton hosts Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Centennial 15 16 12 20 = 63

Ironton 14 15 22 28 = 79

COLUMBUS CENTENNIAL (9-3): Elias Osborne 7 3 8-12 31, Eric Wilson 2 0 3-5 7, Gyal Gyamerah 0 3 0-0 9, Conrad Stephens 5 0 0-1 10, Anthony Slappy 0 0 0-0 0, Christian Cumberland 3 0 0-0 6, Joseph Thomas 0 0 0-0 0, Timothy Williams 0 0 0-0 0, GImmy Martinez 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-63 11-18 63. 3-point goals: 6-23. Rebounds: 11 offense, 21 defense = 32 (Stephens 14). Team rebounds: 4. Assists: 5 (Osborne 3). Steals: 8 (Wilson 4). Turnovers: 11 Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Gyamerah (4th 5:50), Stephens (4th 3:13).

IRONTON (10-2): Zac Carter 6 3 10-12 31, Josh Glover 4 0 0-0 8, Trevor White 3 0 3-6 9, Trey Fletcher 11 0 5-5 27, Darrius Boykin 1 0 2-2 4, Aaron Stephens 0 0 0-0 0, Tristan Cox 0 0 0-0 0, Joe Bowling 0 0 0-0 0, Isaac Sherman 0 0 0-0 0, Jake Long 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-60 20-25 79. 3-point goals: 3-10. Rebounds: 13 offense, 33 defense – 46 (Fletcher 19, White 15). Team rebounds: 4. Assists: 12 (Carter 4, White 3). Steals: 3 (Carter 2). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: Boykin (4th 0:26).