ATHENS — Falling behind by as much as 18, the Ironton Fighting Tigers mounted a furious comeback in the second half, only to fall short and the North Adams Green Devils survived with a 60-56 win in the Boys Division 3 District Semifinals on Saturday night at the Ohio University Convocation Center.
North Adams advances to face the Minford Falcons in the District Finals on Saturday, March 9 at 6:00 PM at the Convocation Center.
Ashton Layne led Ironton with a game-high 23 points and 15 boards to earn a double-double. Braden Schreck scored 17 and Shaun Terry had 10.
North Adams took its first lead of the game when Carson Osborne drove down the lane to for a score to make it 11-10 with 1:43 remaining.
Breestin Schweickart added to the lead on a layup off a turnover, but Layne followed with a score underneath to make it a one-point game.
Copas hit an mid-range jumper at the buzzer gave North Adams a 15-12 advantage after one quarter.
In the second, Copas connected from behind the arc to give the Green Devils their biggest lead of the game 18-12 nearly a minute into the period.
North Adams continued to stretch its lead out even more when Scwheickart hit a three to make it 23-14 with 5:29 left before halftime.
Terry — who had been sitting due to foul trouble in the first — came back and responded with two points on the following possession.
Layne scored another bucket underneath, cutting the deficit to 28-20 with 2:55 remaining, but North Adams finished the first half on a 12-4 run and took a 38-20 at the break.
Ironton came out of the locker room and began to claw their way back with a 10-2 run in the opening two minutes of the third period.
The run was highlighted by Schreck's three-point play and Layne's slam that pulled the Fighting Tigers to within 10 with 6:15 remaining, forcing North Adams to burn a timeout.
Copas sank a free throw to stop the scoring spree with 4:41 left in the third period.
Judah Barnes drained 3-pointer and Schreck added one of his own to pull Ironton within seven of North Adams with 3:53 remaining in the period. Layne inched the Tigers even closer with a put-back, making it 45-41.
Osborne responded with a 3-pointer to give the Green Devils a seven-point lead.
Layne drew a foul on the following possession and sank both foul shots to end the period and Ironton trailed 48-43 heading into the final period.
Schreck scored 7 of Ironton's next 9 points, including two free throws to tie it at 52-all with 2:31 remaining in the game. Layne scored the other two points and had a crucial block shot on the defensive end.
Jayce Rothwell put the Green Devils back ahead by drawing a foul and sinking both of his throws to make it 54-52 with 2:31 left.
Terry drew a foul on a scoring drive and added the plus one to make it 55-all with 1:47 left in regulation.
But Copas put the Green Devils back up by one with a made free throw on the following possession.
Terry drew a foul on the other end, drawing a shooting foul. He made the back end of the two to tie the game with up with 43 seconds.
Rothwell sank both foul shots on the next possession to give the Green Devils a two-point lead with just 16 seconds left on the clock.
Ironton turned it over on their ensuing possession and was forced to foul.
Osborne sank both free throws to put the game out of reach and the Green Devils survived.
The Green Devils had four players reach double-figures, with Rothwell leading them with 17 points and bringing down 4 rebounds. Schweickart scored 14 and had four boards, Copas had 12, and Osborne added 11.
Ironton 12 8 23 13 = 56
North Adams 15 23 10 12 = 60
IRONTON (17-8): Shaun Terry 4-11 0-1 2-3 10, Bailey Thacker 0-3 0-1 0-0 0, Judah Barnes 2-4 2-3 0-0 6, Braden Schreck 6-13 2-6 3-5 17, Ashton Layne 9-13 0-0 5-5 23, Maddix Markins 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Braylon Sturgill 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Markel Cotton 0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-45 10-13 56. 3-pt goals: 4-11. Rebounds: O-5 D-29 = 34 (Layne 15, Thacker 11). Assists: 7 (Terry 3, Thacker 2). Steals: 4 (Terry 4). Turnovers: 8. Fouls 23. Fouled out: Layne.
NORTH ADAMS (19-5): Jayce Rothwell 5-5 0-0 7-9 17, Connor Young 2-6 2-5 0-1 6, Bransyn Copas 3-12 1-5 5-8 12, Carson Osborne 4-5 1-2 2-2 11, Breestin Schweickart 5-11 1-4 1-6 14, Hesler 0-1 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-40 15-26 60. 3-pt goals: 5-16. Rebounds: O-5 D-15 = 20 (Rothwell 4, Schweickart 4). Assists: 2 (Rothwell 2). Steals: 5. (Young 2). Turnovers: 6. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.
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