ASHLAND – Gabe Baith took over the scoreboard early and Paxon Ediger took over the spotlight late.
The two senior guards gave Ashland basketball and its fans a uniquely unforgettable night Friday at Arrow Arena, as Baith surged for a career-high 32 points and Ediger eclipsed 1,000 for his career.
Before the Arrows blasted their way past visiting West Holmes, 77-62, Ediger was honored at center court with 6:17 left to play after a layup gave him 22 points and locked him in as the ninth player in Ashland history to reach 1,000.
The 6-foot sharpshooter has led the Arrows in scoring in all but two games this season – including a school-record 44-point night Dec. 19 against Mansfield Senior.
Ediger had to scratch and claw for his numbers against the Knights, going scoreless in the first quarter and getting nine of his 24 points at the free-throw line.
But the senior went on a 10-0 scoring run on his own midway through the third to help bury West Holmes (3-7, 1-5 Ohio Cardinal Conference).
The surge pushed AHS (5-5, 5-2) back into the win column after a pair of losses to start the new year, and Ediger’s big moment in the fourth brought the home crowd to its feet.
“Honestly, (1,000 points) has been a goal since I was in eighth grade,” said Ediger, who celebrated in the fourth quarter alongside his parents, Nate and Jennifer, with a 1,000-point sign after Ashland head coach Jason Hess stopped the game for the big moment.
“Freshman year, I didn’t really play much varsity. … It’s always been a goal and I’ve just been slowly working up towards it.
“I knew I would get close this season, so I’m happy.”
West Holmes knew Ediger was eyeing the milestone, holding him without a point in the first quarter while Baith carried the Arrows out of the gates.
But Ediger netted nine points in the second quarter to help the Arrows to a 40-25 halftime lead, added 12 in the third, then dropped in a contested layup off a long outlet pass from Baith to reach 1,000.
“I felt like he was pressing a little bit early, but then he kind of got into a rhythm,” Hess said. “It seemed like the closer he got to that number, I felt like West Holmes was almost (focusing solely on him defensively).
“It’s a big honor for Pax. … He worked his butt off to get there and has made a lot of shots – made a lot of tough shots.”
Now with 1,002 points, Ediger could vault as high as fourth in career scoring at AHS, as 117 more (over a minimum of 13 remaining games) could get him past 1992 graduate and current No. 4 Chad Honaker (1,118).
West Holmes and third-year head coach Ben Beiden reached 60 points for the first time all season in Friday’s game, but they also allowed the Arrows to hit a season-high 77 points.
Team-leading scorer Nate Sprang finished with 23 markers – 12 of them in the fourth quarter – but the Knights fell to 0-4 on the road this season.
All five of their league losses have come by at least 15 points.
“We knew Paxon needed 22 to get to 1,000, so we were trying pretty hard to make him work for it,” Beiden said. “We did a great job throughout the first half … so we were feeling pretty good about ourselves there.
“But foul trouble got us a little bit, then the game got a little bit faster and they got up by a lot.”
Baith was responsible for a massive amount of the damage inflicted upon West Holmes. The senior’s 14-point second quarter included a pair of 3s and a buzzer-beating bucket, and his triple with 2:48 left in the third gave Ashland a game-high 30-point advantage at 58-28.
Baith finished 6-for-6 from the free-throw line and 6-for-13 from downtown, tying what he believes was his career-best for made 3s in a game. He also added a team-best seven assists.
It was the first time this season the senior had even reached 20 points.
“I was struggling shooting the ball the past couple games, so I’ve been getting in the gym more shooting and I felt more confident in my shot today,” Baith said. “I saw the first couple go down and just kept shooting.”
“He was able to attack in different ways – he went to the basket, he got to the free-throw line,” Hess said. “He wasn’t just settling for 3-pointers.
“Gabe’s a guy we’re gonna need to have big nights pretty often in the second half of the year, especially the second time through the conference.”
Already with a sparkling career, Baith could join Ediger with 1,000 points before season’s end. His breakout game Friday now has him at 837 (22nd in Ashland history).
Beiden said he’s glad Baith and Ediger are both seniors because he’s grown tired of playing against them.
“(Scoring 1,000) is definitely one of my goals,” Baith said, “but I’m trying not to worry about it too much because I feel like if I do then that will make me think about what I’m doing more instead of just playing basketball.
Either way, he said Friday belonged to his classmate.
“After I had a good first half,” Baith said, “I wanted Pax to get (1,000) on the home court – have the family around him, everyone clapping and cheering for him. It was nice.”
Garrett Davis added eight points in the Ashland win, Ty Bates pulled down a team-high six rebounds and Killian O’Brien turned in a variety of scrappy plays throughout the night. The junior had multiple rebounds, steals and assists in the second half to help push Ashland to its gaping advantage.
Aided by Mansfield Senior’s 62-55 home win over league-leading Dover (8-4, 6-1) the Arrows now are tied for second in the OCC with the Tygers (8-2, 5-2) and could move into a tie for first place next Friday when they host the Tornadoes.
Dover topped Ashland 52-46 in their first meeting.
“At this point, (the OCC) is pretty wide open and I feel like there are about four teams that – depending on what happens and depending on matchups – anything could happen,” Hess said.
After Friday, Ashland is 5-1 when scoring at least 63 points and 4-1 at home. The Arrows, who travel to Sandusky (6-5) for a non-league game Saturday, have yet to allow more than 65 points in a league game.
