By Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

You didn’t shoot well. You missed a bunch of free throws. You were out-hustled and out-rebounded more than three-quarters of the game. So, how bad did you get beat?

Uh, well. We won.

Despite being outplayed by Rock Hill most of the game, the Ironton Fighting Tigers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the upset-minded Redmen 58-52 in the Division 3 sectional semifinals on Monday.

“We didn’t do anything well for most of the game. But when we were down eight in the fourth quarter, we had a gut check and dug down and got the job done,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.

‘The story was our intensity and effort. It did not ratchet out until the last five or six minutes of the game.We got out-hustled most of the game and out-rebounded. Also, we were terrible at the free throw line and we weren’t very good from the perimeter, either.”

Ironton (16-7) will play Chesapeake at 8 p.m. Saturday in the sectional finals at Jackson High School.

The Panthers routed Wellston 69-37.

“Everything was a struggle, but a win is a win in the tournament,” said Barnes.

Speaking of free throws, Ironton was a dismal 14-of-29 from the foul line for the game and just 9-of-18 in the fourth quarter when Rock Hill was forced to foul.

Rock Hill (6-17) led 43-35 with about six minutes to play when Shaun Terry made a layup and a 3-pointer. Rock Hill’s Kelan Davidson sank a foul shot on a play that saw Terry foul out. Ironton’s Bailey Thacker got a putback moments later and it was 44-42.

Blake Porter answered with a jumper and Rock Hill led 46-42 with 4:24 left.

Braden Schreck then converted a 3-point play and sank a foul shot to tie the game at 46-all with 2:50 to play. Rock Hill’s 6-6 center Izaak Cox fouled out on the play.

Ashton Layne sank a free throw and had a putback basket and Ironton led 49-46 with 1:58 to play.

Judah Barnes came up with a steal and fed Layne for a layup and the lead was 51-46.

“Ashton gave us good minutes and helped turn it around. Judah did a good job on Porter,” said coach Barnes. “Judah did a good job on Porter. Cox played well and we couldn’t get him out from under the rim on defense and he was jamming things up.”

The game was tied at 3-3 before Ironton went up 14-9 at the end of the first quarter.

Rock Hill came back to tie the game in the second quarter at 23-all on a 3-point play byAaron Workman and it was 25-all at the half.

Cox had a 3-point play to start the second half and Rock Hill had its first lead at 28-25. A 3-pointer by Dylan Griffith gave the Redmen a 41-34 lead at the end of the quarter.

Schreck led Ironton with a game-high 18 points. Terry had 12 points and Thacker had 10 points and 6 rebounds. Layne had 9 points and 9 boards.

Cox had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Redmen. Griffith and Porter got 11 points each and Workman added 10.

Rock Hill    9 16 16 11 = 52

Ironton     14 11 9 24 = 58

ROCK HILL (6-17): Dylan Griffith 2 2 1-2 11, Braxton Harper 0 0 0-0 0, Izaak Cox 5 0 2-5 12, Rylan Barker 1 0 1-2 3, Kelan Davidson 2 0 1-2 5, Logan Fradd 0 0 0-0 0, Blake Porter 4 1 0-0 11, Aaron Workman 2 1 3-3 10. Totals: 20-49 8-14 52. 3-pt goals: 4-18. Rebounds: O-11 D-18 – 29. Assists: 14. Steals: 4. Blocks: 0. Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Cox (4th 2:50), Davidson (4th (2:00), Griffith (4th 0:26).

IRONTON (16-7): Shaun Terry 3 1 3-4 12, Braylon Sturgill 0 0 0-0 0, Bailey Thacker 3 1 1-2 10, Bryce Markins 0 1 0-2-3, Judah Barnes 0 0 0-2 0, Tyler Roach 0 0 0-0 0, Markel Cotton 0 1 3-4 6, Braden Schreck 3 2 6-12 18, Ashton Layne 4 0 1-2 9, Noah Patterson 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-40 14-29 58. 3-pt goals: 6-17. Rebounds: O-7 D-15 = 22 (Layne 9, Thacker 6). Assists: 10 (Schreck 4, Terry 4). Steals: 4 (Barnes 2). Blocks: 3 (Layne 2, Thacker 1). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 18 Fouled out: Terry (4th 6:06), Layne (4th 1:03).