Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

The Ironton Fighting Tigers were doing everything they wanted except for one item.

Make the shot.

Ironton shook off a bad shooting night the first half and came to life late to beat the stubborn Rock Hill Redmen 62-45 in the Division 3 sectional tournament semifinals on Tuesday.

“We weren’t making shots. We turned them over 14 times in the first half and only converted two,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

“At tournament time you’ve just got to win and move on. No one wants to lose and Rock Hill played hard. You have to give them a lot of credit.”

Braden Schreck led Ironton with a game-high 22 points including 14 in the second half and 10 in the third quarter. He also had 3 steals while Landen Wilson had 5 assists and 4 steals.

Ty Perkins had 13 points despite being under the weather and Matt Sheridan finished with 12 points including three 3-pointers.

“It always helps when our big three score in double figures and they did but not until late,” said Barnes.

Rock Hill (7-15) had three players in double figures with Brayden Adams scoring 11 points and Owen Hankins and Noah Doddridge getting 10 each.

The Fighting Tigers forced Rock Hill into 23 turnovers but continually missed runout layups after forcing a turnover.

Ironton led 6-2 after a layup by Perkins following a steal by Wilson, but Hankins had a cutback of his own miss and hit a layup to tie the game.

Wilson hit a 15-footer but Doddridge made a layup and hit a 15-footer with five seconds left to give Rock Hill a 10-8 lead.

Sheridan hit a 3-pinter to start the second quarter, Shaun Terry had a layup and Schreck got a steal and made a layup for a 15-10 lead.

Perkins’ layup after a steal by Terry had Ironton ahead 20-16 but Adams knocked down a 3-pointer and it was 20-19.

Ethan White scored and Schreck sank a foul shot to make it 23-19 at the half.

“Rock Hill was in a zone and they were giving us the shot from the foul line but we were 10 for 33 from the field the first half and most of them were wide open,” said coach Barnes.

Schreck hit a trifecta coming out of the locker room for a 26-19 lead, but Doddridge and Hankins had layups and it was 26-23.

Victor Day hit a 15-footer to tie the game at 29 but Schreck quickly answered with a 3-pointer and Ironton had the lead for good.

Adams’ free throw got Rock Hill within 32-30 but Schreck hit a 10-footer and Terry made a layup  before Braydon Malone got a layup for Rock Hill and it was 36-32.

Schreck’s foul shot to end the quarter put Ironton ahead 37-32.

Sheridan hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, Perkins made a layup and Sheridan drained another 3-poiner and suddenly it was 45-32.

“Shaun Terry and Lincoln Barnes gave us a big lift. When we put them in, there are times you can see the engine revved up. They gave us a spark and they gave us some energy,” said coach Barnes.

Malone’s hit a 15-footer to pull Rock Hill to within 49-38 only to have Sheridan make a free throws and Perkins buried a 3-pointer and it was 53-38.

After Hankins’ layup, Schreck, Terry and Sheridan all had layups for a 59-40 lead to seal the outcome.

Rock Hill 10 9 13 13 = 45

Ironton 8 15 14 25 = 62

ROCK HILL (7-15): Noah Doddridge 4 0 2-2 10, Dylan Griffith 0 0 0-0 0, Owen Hankins 5 0 0-0 10, Brayden Adams 2 2 1-2 11, Jayson McFann 0 0 0-0 0, Trenton Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Victor Day 1 0 0-0 2, Chanz Pancake 0 0 0-0 0, Braydon Malone 4 0 0-0 8, Landon Harper 0 0 0-0 0, Lane Smith 2 0 0-0 4. Totals: 20-45 3-4 45. 3-pt goals: 2-12. Rebounds: 8-O, 22-D = 30. Assists: 7. Steals: 3. Blocks: 1. Turnovers: 23. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (12-9): Landen Wilson 2 0 0-0 4, Matt Sheridan 1 3 1-2 12, Ty Perkins 5 1 0-0 13, Judah Barnes 0 1 0-0 3, C.J. Martin 0 0 0-0 0, Shaun Terry 3 0 0-0 6, Braden Schreck 5 3 3-6 22, Ethan White 1 0 0-0 2, Lincoln Barnes 0 0 0-0 0, Braxton Pringle 0 0 0-0 0, Peyton Aldridge 0 0 0-0 0, Jaxon Vance 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-58 4-8 62. 3-pt goals: 8-25. Rebounds: 6-O, 13-D = 19 (Perkins 7, White 5). Assists: 12 (Wilson 5, Terry 3), Steals: 13 (Wilson 4, Schreck 3). Blocks: 1 (White 2). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: None.