PORTSMOUTH — Forget the game story. The numbers will tell you what you need to know.
The Portsmouth Trojans got the right numbers as they outlasted the Ironton Fighting Tigers 92-85 in triple overtime on Tuesday in an Ohio Valley Conference game.
While the final score was a big number, the foul line told another story. Portsmouth was 23-of-34 from the line and Ironton just 7-of-10 for a 16 point difference.
Some additional numbers of interest was the fact Ironton shot 35-of-66 from the field for 53 percent and 8-of-19 from the 3-point line for 42 percent. Portsmouth was 28-of-69 from the field for 40 percent and took 34 shots from behind the arc and made 13 for 38 percent with many of the shots from the 25-to-30 foot range.
Ironton’s side has some good numbers with 4 players in double figures led by Braden Schreck with 29 points. Shaun Terry and Bailey Thacker scored 18 points each and Judah Barnes scored a career high 14 points as he hit 4 shots from behind the arc.
“Its hard when things happen that you can’t control. I thought we played one of our best games. I’m proud of our kids and their effort,” said Ironton coach Chris Barnes.
“That game could have gone either way. It’s frustrating. The ball just didn’t bounce our way.”
One big number for Portsmouth was Deandre Berry who scored a game-high 38 points.
“Braden had a great game. Hit clutch shots. Bailey and Judah played really good games. Everyone contributed. I can’t complain about our kids. They played hard and deserved to win,” said Barnes.
“But you can’t take anything away from Portsmouth. They played hard and (Deandre) Berry is just a fantastic player.”
Portsmouth (13-5, 8-3) jumped out to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Lewis. Ironton cut the deficit to 23-17 as Barnes hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Schreck hit a trifecta at the 5-minute mark that gave Ironton a 28-26 lead and Barnes hit another triple with 1:27 left in the half and the lead was 39-28.
Schreck’s 15-footer put Ironton up 45-35 at the 5:48 mark of the third quarter but Portsmouth battled back and got within 54-50 on a layup by Berry with 21 seconds on the clock.
Berry made 3 free throws and Malachi Loper knocked down a 3-pointer and the Trojans took a 64-63 lead.
Barnes’ 3-pointer and Schreck’s layup gave Ironton a 68-64 lead with 2:05 left in regulation.
Ironton was whistled for a foul on a 3-point attempt by Berry on a call that didn’t sit well with coach Barnes. Berry hit 2 of the 3 free throws to make it 68-66 and then Berry took a lob pass and hit a layup to tie the game with 53 seconds left and forced the overtime.
Two free throws by Lewis gave Portsmouth a 76-74 lead with 20 seconds left. The Trojans then knocked the ball loose but Schreck picked it up and hit a clutch 17-foot baseline jumper with one second left to force a second overtime.
Schreck’s 10-footer put Ironton up 81-80 with 1:48 on the clock only to have Noah Livingston get fouled at the 1:23 mark and he sank the second shot to tie the game and create the third overtime.
Donovan Breech scored to give the Trojans an 86-83 lead and Barnes’ short jump made it an 86-85 game with 2:30 left.
But the Trojans were 6-of-8 from the line the rest of the quarter to settle the outcome.
Ironton 17 22 15 14 8 5 4 = 85
Portsmouth 23 5 22 18 8 5 11 = 92
IRONTON (11-7, 7-4): Schreck 12 1 2-2 29, Shaun Terry 6 1 3-4 18, Bailey Thacker 5 2 2-4 18, Judah Barnes 1 4 0-0 14, Ashton Layne 3 0 0-0 6, Braylon Sturgill 0 0 0-0 0, Bryce Markins 0 0 0-0 0,, Markel Cotton 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Roach 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 35-66 7-10 85. 3-pt goals: 8-19. Rebounds: O-3, D-21 = 24 (Thacker 6, Terry 6, Layne 5, Schreck 4). Assists: 19 (Terry 8, Schreck 5, Barnes 3). Steals: 5 (Barnes 2). Blocks: 1 (Layne) Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Layne (OT2 2:58), Terry (OT3 :20), Barnes (OT3 :07).
PORTSMOUTH (13-5, 8-3): Isaiah Lewis 0 5 4-6 19, Donovan Breech 6 0 1-2 13, Malachi Loper 0 4 0-2 12, Noah Livingston 3 0 4-8 10, LaVaughn Cobb 0 0 0-0 0. Luke Stine 0 0 0-0 0, Deandre Berry 6 4 14-17. Totals: 28-69 23-34 92. 3-pt goals: 13-34. Rebounds: O-12 D-22 = 34. Assists: 19. Steals: 4. Blocks: 3. Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.
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