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New Top Cat: Carter breaks Ashland scoring record; Tomcats advance to AIT final; Warriors outlast Pioneers
Dec. 29—ASHLAND — The first game in the winner's bracket looked like a heavyweight fight on Friday as both teams traded shots all night long.
In the end, Ashland landed the knockout blow to Jeffersontown, taking a 50-47 win in the Ashland Invitational Tournament.
In the first half, we gave up nine offensive rebounds," Ashland coach Ryan Bonner said. "A lot of those turned into buckets for them. I thought the second half we were much grittier and tougher on the glass... that kind of set the tone."
"Our aggressiveness on the defensive glass in the second half is what helped us win," Bonner added.
Although they ultimately came up short, the Chargers limited the Tomcats' scoring to just three players, and 90% of the offense came from two players.
"We had some miscues down the stretch," Jeffersontown coach Richard Duncan said. "We gave up open 3s that we shouldn't have given up. That was our plan, to take away the 3-point shot. But we just had some defensive breakdowns."
At the 1:51 mark of the third quarter, Carter finished a tough drive with a basket. He became Ashland's all-time leading scorer on the play, passing the mark set by Marty Thomas that stood since 1994. According to KHSAA statistics, his total includes 373 points that he scored at Greenup County.
It set the pace for the rest of the third quarter. Ashland ended the frame with a 37-34 lead.
Jeffersontown opened the final frame with a 9-1 run to go up 43-39 halfway through the quarter.
Ashland fought back. Tyson Lalonde and Carter drained a pair of late 3s to go ahead. After a missed free throw, Freize made a crucial steal to give the Tomcats possession of the ball with 18.8 on the clock.
"Nate Frieze is what we call our hero of the game," Bonner said. "What we define as a hero is a guy that makes the play that leads to the play. Countless times he was on the floor, fighting for 50/50s. ... His play probably led to a lot of those big-play moments."
Bonner is happy with the dependability his backcourt has shown throughout the week.
"Tyson and Zander have been super consistent in this tournament," Bonner said. "Hopefully that carries into tomorrow."
The Tomcats face Danville Christian in tonight's championship game at 7.
Both teams were neck and neck in the first quarter. Ashland took a one-point edge into the second.
The Tomcats were anchored by Lalonde, who recorded eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Chargers led for much of the second quarter, going up 26-23 with seven seconds to go before the half.
Carter allowed the margin to be short-lived. He drained a 3 at the buzzer to knot the game at 26-26 heading into the break.
"Zander went out there and made plays when we needed plays," Bonner said.
"We wanted to take away the 3-point shot," Duncan said. "(Ashland) likes to spread you out and create open shots for other players. We tried to take that away. I think we played solid defense, we just made mistakes down the stretch that cost us."
The Tomcats opened the second half with a 7-0 run, but the Chargers were able to pull back within a bucket down 33-31.
The Tomcats led 50-47 with Jeffersontown inbounding the ball with 5.6 seconds on the clock following a timeout.
The Chargers got the shot off, but it was off-target, and the Tomcats sealed the win.
Carter had a team-high 25 points. Lalonde posted 20.
Lukus McDaniels netted 13 for the Chargers.
JEFFERSONTOWN 12 14 8 13 — 47
ASHLAND 13 13 11 13 — 50
Jeffersontown (47)— McDaniels 13, Nichols 11, Clark 6, Ellis 6, Cox 5, Jones 4, Sheard 2. 3-pt Fgs: 3 (McDaniels 2, Cox 1) FT: 4-7. Fouls: 9.
Ashland (54)— Carter 25, Lalonde 20, Frieze 5. 3-pt Fgs: 9 (Lalonde 5, Carter 3, Frieze 1) FT: 5-11. Fouls: 8.
Danville Christian 40
Simon Kenton 34
Nothing came easy in the second semifinal as both teams locked down on defense from the opening tip.
In the end, it was Danville Christian who escaped the night with a 40-34 over Simon Kenton.
"Two things (made the difference)," Danville Christian coach Don Story said. "Emmanuel Dut played an excellent offensive game taking the ball to the hole. We didn't spread it out early. We tried to force some things. Late in the second half, we got them to spread out a little bit. The second thing, Titus Boyd did a great job on (Travis Krohman). He's a great player and Titus did a great job on him."
The closely-contested struggle came down to just a couple of missed shots.
"Making and missing shots, at any level, is a difference maker," Simon Kenton coach Trent Steiner said. "They made two more field goals than we made. We were concerned about missing shots. We made 14 field goals, they made 16. And they outrebounded us by one. That tells you the math of the game, sadly."
Neither team's offense could get rolling in the first quarter as the ball just refused to find the bottom of the net.
Simon Kenton made just two baskets in the opening frame. Krohman was notably quiet from the floor.
Danville Christian fared slightly better, taking a 10-4 lead into the second quarter.
Krohman finally made his presence known in the second frame, draining a pair of 3s that helped the Pioneers take its first lead of the contest at 16-12.
The Warriors managed one more basket to take a 16-14 lead into halftime.
"We weren't upset at all about 16-14," Steiner said. "It's a dog fight. They're very physical and we're very physical. The team that did it the best, the longest, was going to win. Unfortunately, they did it the best and the longest."
Both defenses continued to give the other team fits in the second half.
"I felt like we were impatient and trying to force things," Story said. "And (Simon Kenton) was doing a great job defensively. They have a tough 2-2-1 at half court to deal with."
Neither squad was able to create any separation and the score sat at 24-23 in favor of Simon Kenton by the end of the third frame.
In the fourth quarter, both teams traded shots back and forth until Danville Christian found a five-point lead, its largest of the game since the end of the opening quarter.
Simon Kenton fought back to tie the game at 34-34 with two minutes to go.
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, it would be the last point they'd score.
The Warriors stretched things back out with a couple of baskets and a pair of free throws down the stretch to secure the 40-34 win.
Danville Christian's Emmanuel Dut led the night with 23 points. Simon Kenton's leading scorer was Krohman with 13.
Simon Kenton will meet Jeffersontown at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the third-place game.
"I want to see how we bounce back," Steiner said. "We're tired, playing three games in three days. But, in the region tournament, you'll do that. This is just a way for us to fight mental fatigue and see what we can do, plain and simple."
"I like the progress we've made here," Duncan said. "We made some really good strides, so I'm looking forward to where we're looking to end up. We're going to come in here tomorrow and fight like heck to get that win."
Prior to the Danville Christian and Simon Kenton game, Bonner talked about the strengths of the Warriors.
"Danville Christian is a team that has extreme length and athleticism," Bonner said. "I'm excited to watch this game, but we have to make sure we're focused so we can scout it and get what we need to be prepared for tomorrow."
"We're maturing as a team and a program," Story added. "We want to put ourselves in games like that to see where we're at. Playing Ashland at Ashland is a great time to see where you're at. There'll be a great crowd here. It's a great program and a great tradition here. It's exciting for us to be in this situation. I want our kids to go out there and believe and see if we can pull an upset."
S. Kenton 4 12 8 10 — 34
D. Christian 10 4 9 17 — 40
Simon Kenton (34)—Krohman 13, Bilton 7, Stone 6, Brown 4, Polly 2, Royer 2. 3-pt Fgs: 4 (Krohman 3, Bilton 1) FT: 4-5. Fouls: 11.
Danville Christian (40)— Dut 23, Fugate 8, Imfeld 3, Inmon 3, Ayrei 2, Boyd 1. 3-pt Fgs: 4 (Dut 1, Fugate 1, Imfield 1, Inmon 1) FT: 4-6. Fouls: 10.
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