By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

ASHLAND, Ky. — The long and short of it turned out to be just the long of it.

The Ashland Tomcats used their size advantage to dominate the offensive glass as they beat the Ironton Fighting Tigers 69-53 on Saturday.

Ashland (16-10) had 33 rebounds with 14 on the offensive boards. Ironton had 25 rebounds with 12 on offense.

“Ashland was tough in transition and good on the offensive glass. We gave up nine offensive rebounds n the first half. That’s a record for us this year,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

“They have a 6-6 guard who can jump. Then they bring in 6-10 James Mayor with the 6-6 guard. With that zone we shredded them on a couple of possessions. When they put that big, long zone up, it gave us trouble but it gives a lot of people trouble. That’s hard for us to match up. We almost have to be perfect.”

Ironton (12-6) had only one lead in the game when Lincoln Barnes made a layup with 6:02 on the first quarter.

The Tomcats went up 18-8 on a cutback by Zander Carter but Landen Wilson’s 18-footer got Ironton within 16-10 at the end of the quarter.

Wilson’s 3-point to start the second quarter had the Fighting Tigers down just 16-13 and they trailed 27-23 after a basket by Braden Schreck.

But Carter and Rheyce Deboard each made layups before the end of the half and Ashland led 31-23 at the break.

Schreck sank 2 free throws and made a layup to get Ironton within 31-27 with 6:12 left in the their quarter.

Deboard and Ironton’s Shaun Terry traded baskets but then Ashland went on a 9-0 run to lead 40-29.

Ethan White hit a 15-footer to halt the run and then Tyler Roach sank a free throw andWhite got a putback to make it 42-34.

Ashland went on a 12-4 run to close the quarter and the lead was 55-38.

“We battled. They had that one really good run in the third quarter that was the difference,” said Barnes.

The Tomcats kept running and a 3-pointer by Tristan Davis gave Ashland a 66-40 lead.

Schreck had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for Ironton (12-6). Ethan White had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds plus 3 steals. Terry had 11 points and 5 assists.

Carter scored 19 points and David 18 to lead Ashland. Deboard scored 14 points.

Ironton   10 13 15 15 = 53

Ashland 16 15 24 14 = 69

IRONTON (12-6): Lincoln Barnes 1 0 0-0 2, Shaun Terry 2 2 1-2 11, Landen Wilson  3 1 0-0 9, Braden Schreck 6 0 2-2 14, Ethan White 4 1 0-0 11, Bryce Martins 0 1 0-0 3, Tyler Roach 0 0 1-2 1, Markel Cotton 0 0 0-0 0, Amari Felder 0 0 0-0 0, Tayden Carpenter 1 0 0-0 2, Nick Sites 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-53 4-6 53. 3-pt goals: 5-15. Rebounds: 12-O, 13-D = 25 (White 12, Schreck 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 2. Assists: 16 (Terry 5, Wilson 4, Schreck 3). Steals: 4 (White 3). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 6. Fouled out: None.

ASHLAND (16-10): Zander Carter 5 3 0-0 19, Asher Adkins 3 0 0-2 6, Tucker Conway 0 0 0-0 0, Rheyce Deboard 7 0 0-0 14, Tristan Davis 4 3 1-1 18, Nate Frieze 1 0 2-2 4, Tyson Lalonde 0 2 0-0 6, Braxton Jennings 1 0 0-0 2, James Mayor 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-57 3-5 69. 3-pt goals: 8-24. Rebounds: 14-O, 19-D = 33 (Carter 11). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 10. Steals: 9. Turnovers: 12. Blocks: 2. Fouls: 6. Fouled out: None.