Arrows use dynamic backcourt, defense to dissect Yellow Jackets

MOUNT VERNON – As the clock ticked down before halftime on Friday, Mount Vernon was just beginning to believe this could be the night.

The Yellow Jackets had lost five of their last six games, including a 33-point defeat at league rival Lexington a week ago, but things seemed to be turning around early on against Ashland. Mount Vernon had given up just eight points in the second quarter and trailed 30-24. All they needed was a stop to go into the locker room with some newfound positive momentum.

But there stood Garrett Denbow, the 6-foot-5 guard with a shifty handle and smooth release.

The Ashland senior dribbled the ball back and forth near the half court line, hunched over at the waist, as time ticked down to 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds…

He crossed the ball into his right hand and dribbled off a screen at the top of the key, making a subtle side-step to his right before hoisting a deep three with less than a second on the clock.

Bang.

Just like that, the air had been sucked out of the gym. The Hive went quiet as Denbow celebrated with teammates, embracing for high-fives on their way to the locker room. Nick Coon’s Yellow Jackets looked defeated, and there was still a half left to play.

“Credit to him for making that shot,” the head coach said of Denbow after the game, “but that was definitely a momentum-builder for them I think.”

The Arrows rode that high into the second half, where they proceeded to rattle off 22 points in the third quarter and cruise to a 65-44 victory. Ashland (9-5, 6-2 OCC) stayed apace with Mansfield Senior and Lexington atop the Ohio Cardinal Conference with the win.

Mount Vernon (6-10, 3-5 OCC) saw its slide continue; the Yellow Jackets have now lost three straight and six out of their last seven.

Most of Mount Vernon’s struggles have stemmed from the offensive end of the floor (in their six losses since Jan. 1, they’ve scored an average of 37 points per game). That was the case again Friday, when missed free throws and close-range shots held them back.

But things didn’t begin that way, as the first quarter had all the makings of a shootout.

Denbow and Mount Vernon’s Connor Fisher traded buckets early, and the score was notched at 8-8 just three minutes into the contest. Fisher fired off two wide-open threes that hit nothing but net, sending The Hive into a frenzy.

Unfortunately for the home crowd, however, that’s when Ashland junior Mitchell Heilman took over.

The quarterback-turned-swingman scored three times in 80 seconds, hitting two threes and converting on a baseline lay-in. He became simply unguardable by the end of the quarter, pulling up for transition threes and taking the ball to the rack at will. He scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the first period, propelling the Arrows to an early 8-point lead.

“The funny thing is, he struggled on Tuesday,” Ashland head coach Jason Hess said. “And it was one of those things where you could just kind of tell he was really grinding here the last couple days, getting some extra shots in. And I think it just refocused him a little bit.

“But we really needed it. Early it got us going, and it helped silence the crowd a little bit, too, because Mitch came out and hit some big shots.”

The Yellow Jackets were able to limit Heilman in the second quarter while clawing back into the game offensively. Jaxon Snyder found Noah Gleason in transition on a well-timed dump-off pass, and the forward laid it in off the glass to cut the deficit to 2 with 5:30 left.

But that was the closest Mount Vernon would get. The Jackets fell victim to a charity stripe cold spell that was ever more visible late in the second quarter, when they reached the bonus but could not capitalize.

Mount Vernon shot 4-of-11 on free throws in the period and Ashland took advantage.

“We struggled from the free throw line tonight, more so than normal,” Coon said, “and that’s just giving away some points.”

The Arrows took their 9-point halftime lead and grew it to 16 by the time the third quarter was over. Denbow scored around the rim with both hands and knocked down deep threes, while Heilman got back into things by converting at the free throw line.

When the Arrows weren’t leading a furious fast break, they were breaking Mount Vernon down in the half-court. They spaced the floor and allowed their playmakers to make plays, using their quickness and ball-handling ability to create matchup nightmares all over the floor.

“We feel like we’ve got some shooters that can space the floor, we’ve got playmakers that can create, and when we move the basketball and we stay spaced and we are playing at a pretty fast tempo, that’s when we’re at our best,” Hess said.

Ashland also ratched up its defensive intensity in the second half, playing physical down low to limit Mount Vernon to one shot per possession. The Jackets had a hard time finishing around the rim as well; several times, a Mount Vernon player would get multiple shots from close-range but none would fall.

“I thought we did some really good things offensively throughout the game, we just didn’t convert around the rim,” Coon said. “We got there, we just didn’t convert.”

While Coon credited Ashland for its effort, he also called Friday’s loss a “microcosm of our season.”

“We play in stretches really well and have the makings of a quality basketball team, but stretches aren’t enough at this level,” Coon said. “Good teams play consistently – every day, every possession in practice – and that carries over every possession in games. And we’re just not there yet.”

Ashland completed the season sweep of Mount Vernon on Friday, having beat them by 17 at home earlier this winter.

WHAT’S NEXT

Mount Vernon still has four OCC games (and six games total) left on its schedule. Coon said the important thing now is focusing on daily improvement, especially given the relative inexperience of the group (only Gleason played meaningful varsity minutes last year).

“The big thing is, it’s easy to throw in the towel. That’s the easiest option. But the thing more worthwhile is sticking to it and knowing that if we stick to it, eventually we’re going to have a breakthrough,” Coon said.

“And we haven’t had that breakthrough consistently yet, but we’re hoping it’s around the corner here. But that’s going to take sticking together as a basketball team and keeping a positive mindset in the midst of adverse situations.”

Mount Vernon will face Delaware Hayes on Tuesday before traveling to West Holmes (2-13, 0-9 OCC) next Friday.

Meanwhile, Ashland will face Orrville and Massillon Washington next week before heading to Lexington (11-3, 6-1 OCC) for a pivotal league matchup on Friday. The Arrows, who finished just 2-21 last year, are looking to stay focused despite their upstart success.

“We’re excited with where we’re at, but it’s one game at a time right now,” Hess said. “We’ve got some big conference games left – you know, a lot of them on the road. So this is a great opportunity to get a win on the road and also keep us in the hunt for the conference, because we’ve got both those teams (Lexington and Mansfield Senior) ahead of us on the schedule yet.”

BOX SCORE

Ashland: Mitchell Heilman, 18 points; Garrett Denbow, 17 points; Kleijhan Randleman, 12 points; Sam Zickefoose, 11 points; Nathan Mohney, 5 points; Luke Denbow, 2 points.

Mount Vernon: Noah Gleason, 14 points; Connor Fisher, 10 points; Spencer Bills, 6 points; Blake Meyer, 5 points; Jaxon Snyder, 4 points.