3/18 - Ironton 51 Portsmouth 72 (Regional Semi Final)

[ohbuckeye2]

The Ironton Fighting Tigers take on the Portsmouth Trojans in the Regional Semi Finals. They split the regular season match ups with each team winning on their home court. Either way the OVC will be represented in the Regional Finals with the winner, thoughts?

1/2 - at Portsmouth

Portsmouth - 41
Ironton ------ 36

http://www.irontontribune.com/2015/01/0 ... lls-short/


1/20 - at Ironton

Ironton ------ 57
Portsmouth - 46

http://www.irontontribune.com/2015/01/2 ... pes-57-46/

[on a mission]

I expect a classic..I person feel that the boards will be the difference!! Malone has got to play good minutes and dominate the boards for Ironton to win!

[ohbuckeye2]

I expect a classic..I person feel that the boards will be the difference!! Malone has got to play good minutes and dominate the boards for Ironton to win!

I agree, Malone had 9 Rebounds in the last game between these Teams. Should be another great game in my opinion.

[HoopsHotHead]

Classic match-up between to historic ball clubs......should be an instant classic!!

Best of luck to both teams.......and way to go OVC!!

[sballchck]

Both teams are playing their best ball of the season. I think this game will come down to 3 pointers. Whichever team makes the most 3's will win this game.

[knowledge]

The real question is how good is Belmont Union and Eastmoor for next round, and can the Trojans or Tigers go to Columbus? If Eastmoor advances, they played a close game with Fredericktown who is capable, but I would not call them anywhere near elite, so IMO a Portsmouth/Ironton Eastmoor matchup would be very winnable. I was honesty stunned they beat Fredericktown(sectional final).

[trojandave]

I'm very proud of what the Trojans have been able to accomplish thus far: a 19 win season, a co-championship in the OVC in their first year, a 62nd sectional championship, and a 37th district championship. For a team that has been undersized most of the year, they have battled on the boards and have more than held their own defensively in the paint. Against Chesapeake, I think it was possibly the Trojans' best defensive effort of the year, considering the Panthers had an excellent team. The insertion of Ethan Leonard into the starting lineup for the Trojans has proven to be a big plus, as he ignited a Trojan rally vs. the Peake in the 2nd half with 2 critical 3 pointers.

For Portsmouth to win, they have to match the defensive effort that they had vs. Chesapeake.

[trojandave]

This is the 152nd meeting between the Trojans and the Fighting Tigers........Portsmouth leads the series 86-65. The two schools had never met in the regionals until 2012, when they battled for the regional championship in 2012. PHS won that game, 50-40, and eventually ended up state runnerup to Cincinnati Summit Country Day. Ironton followed in 2013 with a regional championship of their own, after beating Oak Hill 66-49 in the final. The Fighting Tigers lost in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Ottawa-Glandorf 61-60.

Portsmouth leads the SE district with 37 district titles, while Ironton is now tied with Southeastern Ross for 3rd with 15. The Fighting Tigers basketball program has long been underrated, obviously being overshadowed by their football success.

Since 2005, either Portsmouth or Ironton has represented the SE district in the state tournament 4 times. IHS went in 2005 and 2013, while PHS made trips in 2011 and 2012. The Fighting Tigers were state runnerup in 2005, while the Trojans achieved the same in 2012.

[ohbuckeye2]

Good luck Fighting Tigers!!

[BubbleGumTiger]

Good luck Fighting Tigers!!

Ditto..............

[pembrook burrows III]

trojandave always brings a great historical perspective on the ancient rivalry between Ironton and Portsmouth, which will be played out again tonight at the Convo. Some other observations:

1. The addition of Ironton and Portsmouth to the OVC has helped make it this year's premier D3 basketball conference in the Southeast District. 4 of the 8 teams who made it to the Convo this year were from the OVC (including Chesapeake and Coal Grove), and of course, both district champs were OVC squads. The OVC is at least the fourth league in which Ironton and Portsmouth have competed together over their history, with others being the SEOAL, the OKAC, and the TSAC.

2. While Portsmouth holds the decided 86-65 win advantage over Ironton, the Fighting Tigers may be able to lay claim to the fact that they have handed the storied Trojan basketball program more defeats than any other school over its history. Any truth to that supposition, trojandave?

3. Over the last ten years, the road to the Schott through the D3 Athens Regional has run along Route 52 on the Ohio River. 7 of those 10 years has seen river teams advance to the D3 Final Four - Portsmouth twice (2011,2012), Ironton twice (2005, 2013), Wheelersburg twice (2006, 2007), and Chesapeake once (2010).

4. Portsmouth has been the 800 pound gorilla in the Southeast District, garnering 37 District crowns, twice as many as any other school. However, Ironton can boast that during the Convo era, its owns the top winning percentage in that building since its opening in 1968. The Tigers have enjoyed a "home away from home" record of 31-6 in the Convo over the past 46 years, or a winning percentage of .838, which is better than the Ohio Bobcats can boast in their own building (.764). Once the Tiger make it out of the Sectionals, they have been a tough "out" at the Convo.

5. Ironton Coach Mark Lafon has perhaps done his finest coaching job this season with the Fighting Tigers. After last year's squad suffered through a tough 2-21 record, he guided essentially the same five starters through a successful 17-9 campaign this year and a Sweet Sixteen berth. That run has been fueled in part by sixth man Dylan Malone, but don't forget that Ironton has made it through the year with out big man Isaac Sherman, a senior and school Class President, who suffered an ankle dislocation during the football playoffs. Isaac would have been a major contributor on this team, but made just his first appearance of the season in the waning seconds of the district final against Wheelersburg.

6. Speaking of injuries, kudos to Portsmouth's Kyre Allison and Sky Oliver in coming back with a vengeance from their own injury problems. Kyre suffered a broken leg shortly after the end of last season, and if his performance against Chesapeake told us anything, it is that he is 100% recovered. Sky also has persevered through a football leg injury over the course of this season, and looks to be back on his A-game. Having both healthy make the Trojans a nightmare to stop on defense. Coach Collins effectively spread the floor and opened up driving lanes against the Panther defense on Saturday, and when help came on Kyre or Sky, Reynolds was either sneaking in from behind for an uncontested layup or Leonard was draining a three on an open kick-out.

All of this makes for an exciting Regional Semifinal tonight at the Convo. Out of everywhere on this planet on this day, it is where I am supposed to be.

[gotgame?]

I sure hope both teams play better than they did Saturday. I am a Trojan fan but had to leave at half time because I couldn't stand to watch it. Portsmouth did nothing tempo wise to change the first half. Ironton won versus the worst Burg team I have ever seen. Just think they beat two teams to get there. People can say what they want but S/E Ohio basketball has hit rock bottom as fare as I'm concerned.

[so.stormmom]

No one cares what your concerns are you made 19 post saying S/E basketball sucks hers an ideal go north and watch games no one gone miss you

[Moses Guthrie]

Go Trojans!!! We will be there til the end regardless of the outcome.. Win or lose Trojans have our support!!

[LetsGoPSU]

My most hated memory always rekindles itself when these two teams met.....1979 Number one and undeafted Portsmouth, Ironton, and the shot that rolled off the edge of the rim at the buzzer, I still havent gotton over that one.Wish I could make hope , hope someone keeps me updated on facebook, Ill be out doing my thing, keeping food on the table, for the entire northeast

[trojandave]

pembrook burrows III: As always, your posts are interesting and intellectual. As far as Ironton beating Portsmouth more than any other school, I don't have the exact figures or all the years involved, but I can tell you that the Fighting Tigers beat the Trojans in the tournament in 1957, 1968, 1970, 1979, 1996, and 2005. The Trojans eliminated Ironton in 1978 (PHS state champs), 1988 (PHS state champs), 1989, and 2012 (PHS state runnerup). The 1979 victory by the Fighting Tigers in the district final broke a Portsmouth HS record 29 game winning streak. The 2012 victory by the Trojans was the first time ever that the 2 schools met in the regional, albeit the regional final. Portsmouth was a Class AAA school from 1971-1977, while Ironton was a Class AA school at that time, so there were no tournament battles between the two during that period. In the 1950's and 1960's, Portsmouth won 6 district titles in each of those decades, so it was a school outside the SE district that ended the Trojans season 12 out of 20 years.

I do maintain that although Ironton has handed Portsmouth a good number of tourney losses, Chillicothe has been every bit as much a nemesis to the Trojans as the Tigers have. The Cavaliers and Trojans haven't met in the postseason, though, since 1976, when CHS beat PHS 52-48 in the sectional. Chillicothe defeated Portsmouth in the tournament in 1971, 1973, and 1976, while the Trojans ended the Cavaliers season in 1972 en route to a district championship win over Zanesville in Class AAA. Starting in 1978, Portsmouth became a Class AA school. Chillicothe also eliminated Portsmouth from the tournament in 1959, while the Trojans beat the Cavaliers 52-51 in the 1961 district final which even today is one of the most famous and controversial tournament games in Portsmouth history. The Trojans went on to win the Class AA big school state title that year.

As far as Ironton having the highest winning pct. at the Convo, remember that Portsmouth was sent to the Dayton Regional in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Of course the Trojans won the D2 state title in 1988 after getting through a very rugged regional there, having to beat Kettering Alter and Cincinnati Forest Park. Portsmouth is the only school in the SE district to have ever won the Dayton Regional. The Trojans also have the most wins ever at the Convo, having won over 200 games there, almost 60 more than the second place school.

In 1994, it looked like Portsmouth and Ironton were headed for a regional final showdown, but the Trojans didn't hold up their end of the deal. PHS lost to Columbus St.Charles 56-53 in the semifinal, while Ironton defeated Steubenville. In the regional final, the Fighting Tigers clobbered St.Charles 76-54 to lay claim to their first Final 4 in school history.

I don't know what will happen tonight, but I can guarantee that it will be a typical Portsmouth--Ironton game........full of intensity, with players, coaches, and fans giving it their all. When the buzzer sounds, one team will be one game away from the ultimate experience in high school basketball...........The Final 4.

52 district titles and 18 regional titles combined makes Portsmouth vs. Ironton one of the most decorated rivalries in the history of SE Ohio basketball.

[trojandave]

pembrook burrows: I misread your post about the all-time series. No doubt Ironton has beaten Portsmouth more than any other school (Chillicothe leads vs. PHS 45-43). I thought you were talking about tournament defeats. I don't know what the record is between the two schools in tournament play. I have just listed above some years after doing research on Portsmouth's tournament history.

[biggdowgg]

Good luck Trojans!!!!

[pembrook burrows III]

Right, dave, was just looking at overall wins. Portsmouth has clearly handled the Fighting Tigers more than enough times in the tournament. That said, there is a ton of respect between the two programs, which is why it is such a good high school rivalry.

[The Flying Dutchman]

200 wins at the Convo that opened in 1968 ? I know Trojandave is the guru of PHS sports but is that possible?
Did Athens and PHS play there in the SEOAL days?