By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

Maybe the Ironton Fighting Tigers had too many Christmas cookies, but it didn’t take long to get over their holiday hangover.

Trailing by one after the first quarter, Ironton took a halftime lead and they outscored Cabell Midland 51-29 in the second half en route to a lopsided 85-56 win over the Scarlet Knights on Thursday.

“The first quarter they had 17 points and that was ridiculous. We knew we weren’t playing good defense,” said Ironton coach Chris Barmes.

“At halftime we’re up seven and one for six at the foul line and left at least 10 points on the rim. The defense was lethargic to go with those other things and still up seven. I told them they just have to play defense the second half and finish the plays and we’ll be fine. I didn’t expect to hit that many 3s.”

The game was back-and-forth in the first quarter as the lead changed hands 7 times and the game was tied 3 times.

Braden Schreck’s foul shot tied the game at 17 but Hughes’ foul shot gave Midland an 18-17 lead to end the quarter.

A layup by Aiden Ray had Midland ahead 23-19 but Bryce “Instant Offense” Markins got hot and hit 3 shots from behind the arc as Ironton went on a 10-0 run and took a 32-25 lead.

A jump hook by Bailey Thacker made it 34-25 and Ray’s basket before the end of the half made it 34-27.

Ironton turned up the offensive scoring to begin the second half.

Schreck and Ray traded layups but then Schreck hit 3 straight shots, Thacker had a layup. Shaun Terry hit a short jumper, Markins drained another trifecta and then he and Schreck had layups as the lead ballooned to 53-29.

Ray sank a free throw to end the run with 3 minutes left in the quarter but Layne’s layup kept Ironton on the attack and Schreck’s 17-footer helped open up a 59-35 lead at the end of the quarter.

“I told them all those points aren’t because of our offense, It’s because of our defense. I put Braden on (Ethan Blackburn) in the second half and he didn’t score until I took Braden out,” said Barnes.

“We live off our defense. When we do that we get going and we’re tough to beat. We just have to keep focusing on our defense,” said Barnes.

An “Alley Oop” pass from Thacker led to a slam dunk by Layne and then Tyler Roach hit a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper as Ironton went up 73-44.

Braylon Sturgill’s trey put the Fighting Tigers up 78-47. Noah Patterson’s layup put the lead at 80-47.

Ironton had 5 players in double figures led by Schreck with a game-high 21 points. Markins had 16 points, Layne 12 and Terry and Roach 10 each.

Ray got 15 points and Blackburn 13 points — 9 in the fourth quarter.

Ironton returns to action on Friday, Jan. 5, at Rock Hill in an Ohio Valley Conference game.

Midland    18 9 8 21 = 56

Ironton     17 17 25 26 = 85

CABELL MIDLAND (1-3): Ethan Blackburn 5 1 0-0 13, Kirby 0 1 0-2 3, Phillips 1 1 1-2 6, Jeffrey 1 1 0-0 5, Reed 0 1 0-0 3, Jones 0 0 2-2 2, Hughes 1 0 2-5 4, Gibson 2 0 1-1 5, Aiden Ray 5 1 2-4 15. Totals: 21-48 8-16 56. 3-pt goals: 15-29. Rebounds: O-3, D-23 = 26. Assists: 8. Steals: 6. Blocks:2. Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.

IRONTON (6-1): Shaun Terry 5 0 0-0 10, Braylon Sturgill 0 1 0-0 3, Bailey Thacker 4 0 0-2 8, Bryce Markins 2 4 0-0 16, Judah Barnes 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Roach 2 2 0-0 10, Markel Cotton 0 0 1-2 1, Braden Schreck 8 1 2-5 21, Maddix Markel 0 0 0-0 0, Ashton Layne 6 0 0-1 12, Noah Patterson 2 0 0-0 4, Kayden Edwards 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 37-73 3-10 85. 3-pt. Goals: 8-18. Rebounds: O-15, D-26 = 41 (Layne 7, Terry 6, Thacker 6, Schreck 5). Assists: 20 (Terry 6, Sturgill 3). Steals: 5. Blocks: 2 (Thacker, Layne). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None.