Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

Where did all these points come from?

Ironton scored a season-high in points as they rolled past the winless Ashland Tomcats 91-68 on Saturday.

Ironton’s highest total all season was 59 in a loss to Spring Valley.

“I’m tired of this up and down stuff. I didn’t care how we did it, I wanted some scoring,” said Ironton coach Mark LaFon.

Phillip Kratzenberg was the catalyst to the offense as he scored a career-high 23 points including six 3-pointers to lead five players in double figures for Ironton (5-7).

“He’s been staying everyday with the shooting machine. He’s paying the price for it and it’s paying off for him,” said LaFon.

Tristan Cox had 17 points — 13 in the second half — and five rebounds, Dylan Malone 12 points and nine rebounds in his first game of the season, Marques Davis 12 points and Joe Bowling 10 points.

“(Malone) gave us a great effort. He left it all out on the court,” said LaFon.

Ironton was 31 of 55 from the field for 56 percent and 9 of 12 from the 3-point line.

Christian Villers scored 33 points for Ashland, now a school record 0-18.

The game was tied three times early and the lead changed hands four times.

Ashland led 11-6 after a 3-pointer by Villers but a 3-point play by Desmond Young and layups by Kratzenberg and Malone put Ironton ahead 13-11 at the end of the quarter.

The Tomcats tied the game twice at 18 and 21 in the second quarter, but two free throws by Jake Isaac and a layup by Bowling off a pass from Cox put the lead at 25-21.

Kratzenberg hit a pair of trifectas that put the lead at 31-25. Two free throws by Cox and a layup by Tanner Price with 44 seconds on the clock gave Ironton a 37-30 halftime lead.

Ironton came out quickly to start the second half as Cox drained a trey, Bowling made a layup, Davis buried a triple and Cox hit a 19-footer to make it 47-30.

Villers scored nine points in the quarter to keep Ironton from running away, but the Fighting Tigers were able to extend their lead to 56-43 at the end of the quarter.

A layup by Malone, a steal and layup by Cox, two free throws by Bowling and a 17-footer by Cox gave Ironton a 66-46 lead and the Fighting Tigers were never threatened.

Ashland 11 19 13 15 = 68

Ironton 13 24 19 35 = 91

ASHLAND (0-18): Noah Roberts 1 0 4-4 6, Christian Villers 5 6 5-6 33, Josh Bradley 3 2 1-2 13, Hunter Copley 3 0 3-3 9, Dallas Knipp 0 0 0-0 0, Dillon Lucas 1 0 2-2 4, Chase Villers 0 0 0-0 0, Daniel Heaberlin 0 1 0-0 3, Tate Dowdy 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-52 15-17 68. 3-point goals: 9-17. Rebonds: 6-O, 14-D = 20 (Knipp 6, Roberts 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 3. Steals: 6. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Copley (4th 3:22).

IRONTON (5-7): Phillip Kratzenberg 2 6 1-1 23, Joe Bowling 3 0 4-6 10, Tristan Cox 5 1 4-4 17, Marques Davis 3 2 0-0 12, Desmond Young 2 0 2-3 6, Tanner Price 1 0 1-2 3, Raphael Glover 1 0 3-4 5, Jake Isaac 0 0 3-4 3, Dylan Malone 5 0 2-2 12, Kevin Davis 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-55 20-26 91. 3-point goals: 9-12. Rebounds: 13-O, 24-D – 37 (Malone 9, Cox 5, Young 5). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 10 (Cox 4). Steals: 9 (Cox 3, Malone 2). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: None.