By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

 

ATHENS — Once they Ironton Fighting Tigers caught their breath, they put a chokehold on the St. Clairsville Red Devils.

Rebounding from a tough win over Huntington High on Friday night and making the long trip to the Alexander Hoops Invitational, Ironton began Saturday’s game slowly.

But the Fighting Tigers got rolling and never looked back as they beat the Red Devils 64-51 at Ohio University.

“We were slow starting. We knew we were going to be sluggish. I challenged them,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

Not only did Ironton get its offense going, but the defense held the Red Devils scoreless for nearly five minutes in the third quarter in building an 11-point lead.

“Coach (Bart) Burcham pointed out that was only gave up about eight points until three minutes (were left in the third quarter). I was happy with that,” said LaFon.

Making Ironton happy on the offensive side were Trey Fletcher and Zac Carter who combined for 50 points. Fletcher had 26 points and 9 rebounds while Carter had 24 points, 3 steals and 2 assists.

Dan Monteroso scored 22 points to lead St. Clairsville (2-3) who last played on Tuesday. Adam Jeffries scored 11 points and Jerrid Marhefka added 10.

Shooting was a key to the game. Taking mostly close-range shots, Ironton was 27 of 44 from the field for 61 percent.

St. Clairsville was 20 of 47 and just 7 of 21 from behind the arc.

Ironton also controlled the glass 29-17. Aaron Stephens had 7 boards to go with Fletcher’s total.

Monteroso had 9 points in the first quarter as St. Clairsville went up 15-9, but a 3-point play by Fletcher and a long trifecta by Carter at the buzzer tied the game.

Fletcher had a layup and a put-back as Ironton took the lead to start the second quarter. Jeffries hit a 3-pointer, Monteroso a layup and Jeffries a 15-footer as the Red Devils regained the lead.

But Carter hit a 16-footer and then a 3-pointer with 1:17 left in the half and Ironton led for good at 30-26.

Two baskets by Fletcher and a triple by Carter and two foul shots opened up a 39-28 lead. Ironton led 45-36 at the end of the quarter.

A follow up shot by Stephens with 3:33 left gave Ironton its biggest lead of the game at 58-40.

Ironton will host the fourth annual Ironton Classic on Thursday and Friday. Ironton faces Columbus Brookhaven at 7:15 on Thursday and Brooke Point, Va., at 7:45 on Friday.

Ironton 15 15 15 19 = 64

St. Clairsville 15 11 10 15 = 51

IRONTON (4-0): Zac Carter 6 3 3-5 24, Trey Fletcher 10 1 33 26, Dion Brown 3 0 0-0 6, Nolan Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Josh Glover 0 0 0-0 0, Aaron Stephens 1 0 0-0 2, Tanner Dutey 2 0 0-0 4, Darius Boykin 0 0 0-0 0, Sean Lawless 1 0 0-0 2, Nate Garred 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-44 6-8 64. 3-point goals: 4-8. Rebounds: 9-20=29 (Fletcher 9, Stephens 7, Glove 6). Team rebounds: 1. Assists: 17 (Glover 5, Carter 5, Stephens 3). Steals: 5 (Carter 2). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE (2-3): Dan Montroso 9 1 1-4 22, Riley Carlton 1 1 0-0 5, Jerrid Merhefka 1 2 2-2 10, Adam Jeffries 2 2 1-1 11, Dylan Campbell 0 1 0-0 3, Joel Giffin 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-47 4-7 51. 3-point goals: 7-23. Rebounds: 8-9=17 (Monteroso 6). Team rebounds: 2. Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None.