ASHLAND — Madison woke a sleeping bear Friday at Arrow Arena.
The Rams fell behind big early, scrapped their way back into the game, then came unhinged during a nightmarish 11-minute second-half stretch in a 69-49 loss to Ashland at Arrow Arena.
Trailing 29-21 at the half, the Rams (4-8, 1-6 Ohio Cardinal Conference) pulled even with the Arrows (3-7, 2-4) at 34-34 on Billy Buckley’s traditional three-point play with 3:16 remaining in the third quarter. Ashland outscored Madison 35-15 the rest of the way.
“We exerted a lot of energy to get even and they answered in a big way,” Madison coach Tim Mergel said. “We didn’t respond and it kind of snow-balled on us.”
Junior sharp-shooter Isaac White ignited Ashland’s second-half offensive outburst, scoring 17 of his game-high 25 points in the third and fourth quarters. White’s 18-footer broke the 34-34 deadlock as the Arrows outscored the Rams 15-5 during the final three minutes of the third quarter. Brett Vipperman capped the third quarter spree with a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Ashland took a 49-39 lead to the fourth.
The 6-foot-4 Vipperman, a junior swingman, snapped out of his shooting slump with 19 points.
“Brett Vipperman is a guy who started off the season great in our first two games, but in our last seven games he has struggled to find his groove,” Ashland coach Tim Fralick said. “It was great to see him come on. When he hit that 3 at the end of the third quarter, I told my coaches, ‘That’s a really good sign for us.’
“We’re better than (3-7). The whole emphasis this week has been on getting a fresh start. I think our guys have bought into it.”
The Arrows stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter, outscoring Madison 20-10. Back-to-back layups by Zach Stoops and Vipperman to open the period and a 3-pointer by White gave Ashland a 56-41 lead with 5:18 remaining. The Rams never threatened again.
“We didn’t answer in the fourth. They put some pressure on us and we allowed ourselves to get trapped,” Mergel said. “The ball stopped moving and when the ball stops moving for us … bad things happen.
“You could tell (Ashland) is a team … that is hungry for a win. They have struggled all year. They know they are better than what they have shown and I know they are better than what they have shown. I’ve been telling our kids all week it’s only a matter of time until they break through.”
A week after scoring a season-low 30 points in a 44-30 loss at Lexington, the Arrows connected on 47 percent of their field goals (21-for-45). The 69 points score was Ashland’s highest offensive output of the season.
“Offensively, we’re not going to have many game like (the loss to Lex) with this group,” Fralick said. “I’d like to think that will be our only one this year and our guys believe that, too.”
The Rams, who knocked off Lexington last week for their first OCC victory in two years, connected on 18 of 45 field goals (40 percent). Madison was 7-for-8 from the floor in the third quarter and 11-for-37 the rest of the evening.
“We played well against Lex and I thought we showed toughness. And I thought we showed toughness in the third because Ashland got off to a hot shooting start,” Mergel said. “We battled back, it’s just we didn’t have that final answer.
“We’ve got fight in us. We just have to understand that, when someone makes a run at us, we don’t have to hit a 10-point shot. We’re down eight to start the second half and we just chip away and chip away and chip away. You’ve got to just continue to work at it. We have a very hard time of staying patient.”
White and Vipperman were the only two Arrows to reach double figures in the scoring column. Freshman Grant Denbow had nine points, while Stoops added eight.
Coy Vantilburg paced Madison with 14 points. Buckley and Tyrell Ajian each had 11, while Bryce Luckie added seven.
In junior varsity action, Madison rolled to a 48-38 win behind 13 points by Jesse Weightman and 10 from Hunter Powers. Nick Bernhard and Logan Brewer each had 10 for Ashland.
The Rams host crosstown rival Mansfield Senior on Saturday night. Ashland visits Clear Fork.
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
