AIT Day 1: Warriors, Pioneers start off tourney with wins

Dec. 28—ASHLAND — Danville Christian tipped off the 68th Ashland Invitational Tournament with a 60-53 win on Thursday over Morgan County.

"We were hot early," Danville Christian coach Don Story said. "We kind of cooled off in the second half, but any time you can make shots it makes it look better. Shooting made the difference in the first half for sure."

The Warriors jumped out to an early lead that it never relinquished, despite a second-half run from the Cougars.

"They came out and knocked down shots early," Morgan County coach Reece Griffith said. "We sort of over-adjusted a bit. But in the third quarter, when their shots weren't falling, we were able to make it up. But we definitely have some good film to look at and learn from."

It was a quick 7-1 run by Danville Christian that had Morgan County calling a timeout just 23 seconds into the contest.

The Cougars eventually got things to a 14-10 deficit, but a pair of 3s from Noah Imfield put the Warriors up 20-12 heading into the second quarter.

Morgan County struggled from behind the arc in the first half, going 2 of 8 in the first quarter and 0 of 5 in the second.

That wasn't an issue for Danville Christian, which was throwing daggers from downtown.

The Warriors sank three quick treys to start the second frame, causing Morgan County to again call timeout, now down 29-13.

Out of the break, the Cougars made its first field goal of the quarter, a tip-in by Preston Hopkins three minutes into the frame.

Morgan County held Danville Christian to just two free throws for the remainder of the half.

The Cougars managed just one more field goal before halftime, making it 31-17 heading into the locker room.

Danville Christian's Emmanuel Dut led at the half with 11 points.

The Warriors were 7 of 15 from 3-point land in the first half. Four triples came from Imfield.

Morgan County opened the second half with a bang, scoring 10 points in the first two minutes to make it 35-27 and causing Story to call his first timeout of the contest.

Morgan County kept climbing the hill, making it a 39-34 game by quarter's end.

"We're a scrappy bunch," Griffith said. "We're undersized in a lot of positions, but we claw and fight until the final buzzer sounds."

Danville Christian regained some separation in the final quarter, going back up by 10 a minute in at 48-38.

"We knew they were dangerous offensively," Story said. "Morgan can make shots. They were a little cool today, but I think Titus Boyd stepped up for us and hit a big 3 after that run. That was key. We made those shots when we needed to."

That hill was too steep to climb for the Cougars.

Morgan County tried to foul to get back in it, but the Warriors made their free throws down the stretch to secure the 60-53 win.

Dut and Eli Griffith each had 17 points, the high mark of the game.

DANVILLE 20 11 8 21 — 60

MORGAN CO. 12 5 17 19 — 53

Danville Christian (60): Dut 17, Boyd 15, Imfield 12, Fugate 9, Ayiei 7. 3-pt Fgs: 9 (Imfield 4, Boyd 2, Dut 2, Fugate 1) FT: 9-16. Fouls: 11.

Morgan County (53): E. Griffith 17, G. Griffith 12, Hoskins 10, Spencer 10, Adams 4. 3-pt Fgs: 8 (E. Griffith 3, Hoskins 2, Spencer 2, G. Griffith 1) FT: 5-11. Fouls: 18.

Simon Kenton 62, Butler 54In Game 2 of Day 1 of the AIT, Simon Kenton took down Butler.

"We just tried to limit (Dayton Williams)," Simon Kenton coach Trent Steiner said. "I don't know if we did a good job of that or not, but we just made the rest of the team try to do stuff and I think it worked out for us."

Both teams played even in the first quarter, but a late 3-pointer from Christopher Morris gave Butler the 19-16 edge at the end of the first quarter.

"I didn't think we were playing with enough defensive intensity in the first half," Butler coach Kevin Geary said. "I'm not trying to take anything away from a kid like (Travis) Krohman, 'cause he can go, but I just didn't feel like we put him under enough duress. When you dig a 10-point hole against a really good team, it's hard to dig your way out of it."

Simon Kenton turned up the heat in the second frame, going on a 15-4 run that had Butler calling its first timeout at the 3:31 mark, down 30-23.

The Pioneers tacked on three more to its lead, taking a 36-26 advantage into the half.

Krohman had 18 points, including five made 3s, in the first half.

"He's a really good player," Steiner said of Krohman. "He apparently likes this gym, which is good, too."

Dayton Williams led the Bears with 11.

Butler cut the lead in half by the end of the third frame. The Bears got it to 41-39, but another Krohman 3 created some breathing room for the Pioneers, who led 44-39 heading into the fourth.

An 11-3 run to start the final quarter helped Simon Kenton push the game even further away from Butler.

The Bears tried to claw back, but the deficit and the clock were both against them.

The Pioneers made their free throws and sealed the 62-54 win.

Williams led with 25 points. Krohman finished with 24.

Simon Kenton will meet Danville Christian today at 5:30 p.m.

S. KENTON 15 21 8 18 — 62

BUTLER 19 7 13 15 — 54

Simon Kenton (62): Krohman 24, Bilton 12, Stone 9, Bach 7, Polly 7, Taylor 2, Brown 1. 3-pt Fgs: 8 (Krohman 7, Bach 1) FT: 10-15. Fouls: 10.

Butler (54): Williams 25, Thompson 7, Morris 6, Russell 6, Carter 5, Perkins 3, Anderson 2. 3-pt Fgs: 6 (Williams 3, Morris 2, Carter 1) FT: 8-10. Fouls: 14.