Hot-shooting Ashland knocks off Mount Vernon

ASHLAND — Garrett Denbow and Mitch Heilman hosted a shooting clinic Friday at Arrow Arena.

Denbow scored 25 points and Heilman added 22 as the Arrows snapped a two-game losing streak with a 73-56 win over Mount Vernon.

Ashland’s marksmen combined for five 3-pointers in the first quarter alone and accounted for 30 of the Arrows’ 40 first-half points. Denbow had 18 points at the break, while Heilman had four first-half treys.

“We came out with a lot of energy and got a lot of good shots offensively,” Denbow said. “We shared the ball really well. We got it into the paint and kicked it out to open shooters.”

The Yellow Jackets (2-4, 1-1) led 11-5 early in the first quarter before Denbow and Heilman began to assert themselves. Heilman’s triple with 4:32 remaining cut Mount Vernon’s advantage to 11-9 and Denbow gave Ashland (2-2, 2-1) a 12-11 lead with his second 3 of the period about a minute later. Heilman would knock down two more 3s before the end of the quarter as Ashland took a 20-19 lead.

“We knew they had capable shooters, especially if they got comfortable,” Mount Vernon coach Nick Coon said. “Once they see the ball go in and the crowd gets into it, things can kind of snowball.

“Denbow is a good player. Once he gets that confidence high, he feels like he can get any shot and make any shot and for the most part he did tonight. And they had other guys knock down shots as well.”

Leading 40-35 at the half, Ashland took control in the third quarter. The Arrows outscored the Jackets 18-3 during the opening five minutes of the second half and took a 58-38 lead on a Denbow layup with 3:30 remaining. The Yellow Jackets closed the quarter on a 9-0 run and trailed 58-47 after three.

“Mount Vernon came out in a zone to try to mix things up. We haven’t seen a lot of zone this year, but we executed and got a few rhythm 3s and knocked them down,” Ashland coach Jason Hess said. “We took the lead from five up to double digits and that was the difference in the game.”

Luke Denbow got in on the act as well, scoring nine of his 14 points in the second half. The freshman guard had a pair of 3-pointers.

Connor Fisher paced the Yellow Jackets with 13 points. Evan Boatwright added 10, including a circus 3-pointer from well beyond the arc as time expired in the third quarter. Carson Carpenter, Noah Gleason and Jontey Greene each had eight.

Mount Vernon, which has lost three straight, begins a five-game home streak Saturday against Watkins Memorial.

“Any time we give up 73 points in a game we’re going to struggle. We’ve got to shore up our details defensively to have a chance to win on the road,” Coon said. “Until our consistency at the defensive end is there, it’s going to be tough for us to sustain anything.

“It all starts for us at the defensive end and giving up 73 points isn’t going to get it done.”

Ashland returns to action Saturday in the 419 Challenge at Ontario’s O-Rena. The Arrows will play the host Warriors in the final game of the four-game showcase. Ashland already has matched last year’s win total

“I think this team has better chemistry than last year’s team,” Denbow said. “We have spent a lot of time together off the court and that is showing up on the floor.”