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SPORTS
Huntington Prep, Ironton win
Cabell Midland's Keegan Adkins hits a layup against Columbus Africentric defenders Trevon Saunders and Kenny Robinson during the Ironton Classic basketball tournament on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011, at Ironton High School.
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IRONTON -- After having a national contest canceled last week, Huntington Prep was eager to get on the court against a reputable opponent and make a statement.
The Express came out on fire, using a 27-4 run in the first half to build a lead before thwarting a rally by Columbus Northland to earn a 71-62 win over the Vikings in the first day of the Ironton Classic.
"I think we had a chip on our shoulder because our guys were excited to play at Duke against Simeon and that (cancellation) hurt us," Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said. "We came out and played well. We had seen them a couple of days ago and we took away what they wanted to do early."
Xavier Rathan-Mayes led the early charge for Huntington Prep, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the first quarter to help lead the early run.
Rathan-Mayes also scored seven points to start the fourth quarter after Northland had trimmed the 23-point lead down to one possession following a three-pointer to close the third quarter.
Led by Rathan-Mayes, the Express never let its lead get down to one possession in the fourth quarter, using transition to earn the win.
"X is just a pure scorer," Fulford said. "When he's hitting his shots, he's hard to stop. He sort of just took the game over when they made a run there in the third. He has the ability to do that at any time."
Huntington Prep jumped out to a 32-9 lead with just over three minutes left in the first half, but Northland called a timeout to regroup.
The Vikings answered with 12 straight points before Elijah Macon's dunk ended the half with Huntington Prep holding a 34-21 advantage.
Northland kept its momentum running in the third quarter as the Express struggled from the field. The Vikings' half-court trap forced several turnovers that turned into transition points with point guard Jordan Potts leading the break.
In addition to Rathan-Mayes' output, the Express got 16 points and nine rebounds from Andrew Wiggins and 13 points from Stefan Jankovic.
Potts led the Vikings' balanced attack with 16 points. Jalen Robinson added 15 points and eight rebounds while Ke'Chaun Lewis and Devon Scott added 13 each.
Huntington Prep returns to action in the Ironton Classic tomorrow with a 9:30 p.m. featured matchup against Cincinnati Taft.
HUNTINGTON PREP 15 19 11 26 - 71: Rathan-Mayes 23, Webster-Chan 2, Wiggins 16, Jankovic 13, Macon 7, Payne 3, Hawkins 7
COLS. NORTHLAND 7 14 21 20 - 62: Robinson 15, Potts 16, Hairston 3, Lewis 13, Scott 13, Tucker 2
IRONTON 53, COLS. BROOKHAVEN 48: It certainly wasn't the prettiest game that Ironton coach Mark LaFon has seen, but the ending turned out beautiful.
The Fighting Tigers overcame 21 turnovers and a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 53-48 win over Columbus Brookhaven to stay undefeated on the season.
"They didn't quit," LaFon said. "It looked like at times we were struggling and I thought we might not have anything left in the tank."
Due to the turnover amount, Ironton shot just 25 times in the game but the Fighting Tigers made the most of its opportunities by shooting 60 percent from the field.
Zac Carter continued his hot start to the season, connecting for 29 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead Ironton's 10-0 run to end the contest.
Carter hit the biggest shot of the game - a runner with 39 seconds left to give Ironton a 3-point lead and force the Bearcats into a rushed shot. Trey Fletcher solidified the win with two free throws, giving him 13 points for Ironton (6-0).
Randall Clarkson and Kevin Greenhow led Brookhaven (3-2) with 13 points. Greenhow added 10 rebounds in the loss.
COLS. BROOKHAVEN 13 10 18 7 - 48: Greenhow 13, King 5, Bush 4, Williams 3, McEwen 5, Robinson 5, Clarkson 13
IRONTON 13 8 13 19 - 53: Carter 29, Fletcher 13, Brown 4, Johnson 2, Boykin 3, Glover 2
COLS. AFRICENTRIC 60, CABELL MIDLAND 48: Columbus Africentric used a full-court pressure defense to force several third-quarter turnovers that turned a close contest into a rout.
Africentric led 29-19 at the half, but opened the second half on a 13-2 run that was aided by seven Midland turnovers. The lead grew to as many as 24 in the quarter.
Kenny Robinson scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half to lead Africentric in the win.
Coy Petitt scored 10 points off the bench for Cabell Midland.
AFRICENTRIC 11 18 23 8 - 60: Saunders 6, Harrison 5, Black 6, Robinson 13, Miller 4, Skinner-Byrd 3, Wilson 3, C. Tucker 2, F. Tucker 4, Walls 3, Smith 6, Ross 2
CABELL MIDLAND 8 11 10 19 - 48: Scarberry 2, Matthews 3, Beckett 5, Dailey 3, Adkins 8, Lockhart 5, Bennett 3, Bickford 7, Petitt 10, Fraley 2
IRONTON ST. JOE 57, SCIOTOVILLE COMMUNITY 44: The Flyers overcame an early 10-2 deficit to get a 13-point victory in the first game of the day.
Justin Mahlmeister finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals to lead Ironton St. Joe while Ike Palmer added 10 points and nine assists. Eli Lewis also had 10 points.
Patrick Bias had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for Sciotoville Community.
SCIOTOVILLE COMMUNITY 44: King 6, Bias 13, Watkins 4, Crager 12, Rittner 3, Wright 4, Bradford 2
IRONTON ST. JOE 57: Dalton 1, Geswein 5, Scott 4, E. Lewis 10, Payton 2, Mahlmeister 23, Palmer 10, Johnson 2
