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'Cats best in show: Ashland hands Bulldogs first defeat in own backyard
Feb. 16—LOUISA — Ashland held off a persistent Lawrence County team Friday night for a 73-63 victory.
"My biggest concern going into this game was keeping them off the glass," Ashland coach Ryan Bonner said. "They average 31 rebounds a game and grab a lot of offensive rebounds. They're able to extend possessions and get and steal buckets with their offensive rebounding. I thought we rebounded the ball extremely well tonight, and that's what allowed us to stay ahead late in the game."
The loss was the first at home for the Bulldogs, who are now 21-5 on the season.
"Man, they're a really good team," Lawrence County coach Chandler Thompson said. "When you got a kid like Zander Carter on the floor that can get to the rim anytime he wants to, you do everything you can to take that away and collapse on them. But then they're able to hit 3s. They hit 11. They're just a really good team. I'm proud of our guys though. Every time they went on a run, we were able to clamp down and answer it a little."
The Tomcats jumped out to an early 11-0 lead to start the game.
Ashland made five 3s in the first quarter, two each from Asher Adkins and Nate Freize and one from Braxton Jennings.
"We had some really crisp offensive possessions," Bonner said. "Cam Davis, Braxton Jennings, and Nate Freize hit big 3s, very timely shots when we needed them."
The Tomcats helped themselves throughout the game with their ability to move the ball around efficiently.
"They did great tonight, but we're still making growth in that area," Bonner said. "We talk about it all the time. It's our shot, not your shot. Our guys do a good job of making sure they find the right shot for our team at the right time. They're an unselfish bunch."
Logan Ratliff made a one-man comeback against the Tomcats, putting up Lawrence County's first 10 points.
Ashland led by as much as 20-10 before the rest of the Bulldogs got in on the offensive action.
A pair of 3s from Luke Fetherholf and Gunnar Woods, along with a handful of free throws and a couple of Ashland turnovers, had Lawrence County within striking distance.
The home squad trailed 27-21 to start the second frame but tied it up 29-29 halfway through the quarter.
The Bulldogs held a brief advantage at 32-31 following another Woods 3 before the Tomcats retook the lead, 36-31, to end the first half.
"We've had plenty of comeback wins and it's just a credit to these guys," Thompson said. "They never stop believing in each other. They are great competitors. They love to win. They never quit on each other. They came up short tonight, but hey, that's part of it against a good team. We'll learn from it, watch some film on it, and hopefully bounce back next week."
Another 3 from Jennings capped off the first half for the Tomcats. It was the only 3 of the second quarter for Ashland.
Ashland managed to build on its lead in the third quarter.
Freize and Jennings each hit another 3 to go with Cameron Davis' first 3 of the night to help lift the Tomcats through the frame.
Ratliff posted his first basket since the first quarter after hitting from long range.
Andrew Bloomfield kept the Bulldogs in the game with six points from the floor and one made free throw in the stanza.
Ashland's 53-45 lead entering the fourth quarter was enough of a head start for the Tomcats to keep Lawrence County at bay.
With the score and the clock in their favor, the Tomcats hit enough free throws down the stretch for the win.
"Teams like that are going to go on runs," Thompson said. "But that's one of our biggest strengths, one of the brightest spots now. Every time they went on a run, we were able to answer it a little bit, and we hit big shots. In the postseason, you have to guard and you have to be able to hit big shots. Hopefully, it's something we can build off of."
Jennings and Bloomfield each had 20 points to lead their respective teams.
Adkins added 17 points for Ashland (19-8). Carter contributed 10.
Ratliff finished in double figures with 16 points for the Bulldogs. Woods netted 12.
ASHLAND FG FT REB TP
Jennings 7-13 2-3 3 20
Adkins 7-9 1-1 7 17
Carter 1-3 8-12 6 10
Davis 3-6 1-1 5 9
Freize 3-4 0-2 2 9
Lalonde 3-6 0-0 4 6
Clark 1-3 0-0 2 2
Team 1
TOTAL 25-44 12-19 30 73
FG Pct.: 56.8. FT Pct.: 63.1. 3-pointers: 11-25 (Jennings 4-8, Freize 3-4, Adkins 2-3, Davis 2-4, Clark 0-1, Carter 0-2, Lalonde 0-3). PF: 13. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 7.
LAWRENCE CO. FG FT REB TP
Bloomfield 9-14 1-2 5 20
Ratliff 6-9 0-0 3 16
Woods 4-12 0-0 4 12
Perry 2-10 2-2 4 7
Fetherholf 2-2 1-1 2 6
Marcum 0-1 2-4 2 2
Scaggs 0-1 0-0 0 0
Team 2
TOTAL 23-49 6-9 22 63
FG Pct.: 46.9. FT Pct.: 66.6. 3-pointers: 11-23 (Ratliff 4-6, Woods 4-10, Fetherholf 1-1, Bloomfield 1-2, Perry 1-3, Marcum 0-1). PF: 18. Fouled out: Ratliff. Turnovers: 7.
ASHLAND 27 9 17 20 — 73
LAWRENCE CO. 21 11 13 18 — 63
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