The Irish were not able to overcome a notable size disadvantage, as Walnut Ridge used their size to outrebound the Irish by a wide margin. Offensively rebounding led to numerous 2nd and 3rd chance baskets as Walnut Ridge defeated the Irish 52-40.
The Irish took a 3-2 lead on a Justin Craig three pointer off of a Ryan Duncan assist with 6:10 to go in the first quarter. From that point on, 3 quick turnovers by the Irish, and a number of offensive putbacks by Walnut Ridge led to a 15-3 Walnut Ridge lead. The Irish did cut the lead to 15-6 at the end of the first on a Raneal Ewing 3 pointer. Travis Yates drew a charging foul in the quarter.
The Irish scored the first 5 points of the 2nd quarter to complete an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 15-11. A Ewing basket cut the lead to 17-15 with 4:30 to go in the half. Trailing 21-17, Ryan Gibson buried a three to cut the lead to 21-20. Walnut Ridge scored the final 4 points of the quarter and led 25-20 at the half. Gibson provided a spark off the bench with 5 second quarter points. Ewing added 7 points in the quarter, while Antonio Bisutti scored 2.
The Irish started the 3rd quarter with 3 turnovers, and Walnut Ridge capitalized to take a 30-20 lead with 6:16 to play. The Irish then went on an 8-0 run on three pointers by Duncan and Joshua Ashwill, and a 2 pointer by Yates. Once again Walnut Ridge closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 35-28 lead into the 4th quarter.
The deficit was too much for the Irish to overcome as they were outscored 17-12 in the fourth quarter. Bisutti led the Irish with 4 fourth quarter points, while Ashwill and Craig each added a three pointer, and Ewing added two free throws.
Scoring was led by Ewing with 12, Bisutti, Ashwill and Craig with 6 each, Gibson with 5, Duncan with 3 and Yates with 2.
The Irish are now 4-7 on the year.
Box Score
WR: Bazemore 6-4-16, Diop 3-2-8, Traylor 3-2-8, Alexander 3-0-6, McCall 1-2-4, Spears 2-0-4, Hardgrove 1-0-2, Brooks 1-0-2, Reid 1-0-2. Totals: 21-10-52.
DS: Ewing 4-2-12, Craig 2-0-6, Ashwill 2-0-6, Bisutti 2-1-6, Gibson 2-0-5, Duncan 1-0-3, Yates 1-0-2. 3-point goals: Ashwill 2, Craig 2, Ewing 2, Bisutti, Duncan, Gibson. Totals: 14-3-40.
The 3rd quarter was the downfall for the Irish JV, as they fell to Walnut Ridge by the score of 48-35.
The Irish scored the first points of the night on a steal and layup by Ryan Gibson, but still found themselves training 11-8 after the 1st quarter. Dominic Madison and Chase Sult had three points each in the quarter to go along with Gisbon's 2.
The Irish fell behind 13-8 as both teams struggled offensively to start the 2nd quarter. The Irish finally scored after a Gibson steal led to a layup by Madison to cut the lead to 13-10. Gibson then tied the game on a 3 pointer with 1:20 to go. The Irish took a 15-13 lead after a Braxton Wallace steal led to a basket by Sult. The second quarter ended with the score tied 16-16.
The pace of the game picked up in the 2nd half. Tyler Zack provided a spark by drawing a charge and then making a basket to tie the game at 20-20. After falling behind 26-20, Zack then nailed a three pointer to cut the lead to 26-23. Walnut Ridge outscored the Irish 6-2 for the remainder of the quarter to take a 32-25 lead into the 4th. For the quarter, Zack scored 7, while Madison added the other 2 points.
Walnut Ridge pulled away in the fourth quarter jumping to a 37-27 lead with 3:30 to go. Madison provided 8 points in the quarter, while Sult added 2.
For the night, Madison was high scorer with 15 points. Zack and Sult added 7 each and Gibson 6.
The Irish fell to 6-5 for the season.