It was Jan 9, and it seems so long ago.

On that Friday night, Portsmouth was looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season at rival Ironton.

The Trojans had a 14-point lead in the third quarter, but scored just 12 in the fourth and overtime in a 62-55 loss.

Fast forward to Tuesday night: same teams, same woes.

Portsmouth scored just nine first half points, digging a hole it could not climb out of in a 68-44 loss at home.

With the loss, Portsmouth falls to 8-7 on the year. The Trojans are 6-7 since their 5-0 start.

The difference between Portsmouth's fast start at Ironton and its 21 percent shooting first half Tuesday?

"Intensity," Portsmouth coach Josh Shoemaker said. "We came out and played flat in the first half. Ironton did everything right and we did everything wrong."

The Fighting Tigers (11-5, 6-3) started the game, taking a 9-0 lead before Shoemaker called a timeout, pulled his five players off the floor and put five players off his bench into the game.

Zack Link scored on a breakaway and a put back to get Portsmouth on the board, though the Trojans were down 16-4 after one. The margin swelled to 26 by halftime

"I was really excited about the way our kids started the first half," Ironton head coach Mark Lafon said. "Their defense was tremendous. I think they tried to make a statement and did."

Portsmouth turned up the intensity in the third quarter, forcing six Fighting Tiger turnovers and out-scoring Ironton 21-17.

The change in intensity was not enough to get the Trojans any closer than 19 at any point in the second half.

"By the time we decided to play hard, the ball game was pretty much in hand," Shoemaker said. "You can't pick and choose in (basketball) when you want to play hard."

With Portsmouth surging in the third quarter, Ironton's Tim Kochendoerfer had the answers. The junior scored 11 points in the quarter, keeping Ironton on top.

"In the first half, I had to sit (Kochendoerfer) for a while..." Lafon said. "I told him to watch the game and see what's available. He came out in the third quarter and let the game come to him instead of trying to take the game to everyone."

Kochendoerfer led Ironton with 16 points, while Michael Lamb added 16 and 12 rebounds.

The Tigers out-rebunded Portsmouth 48-36 tonight, and made 17-of-25 free throw attemps compared to the Trojans 6-for-23 performance.

In spite of Portsmouth's offensive struggles, Anthony Williams managed 19 points and eight rebounds. Andrew Bendolph added 11 points.

Link, who scored all four of Portsmouth's first quarter points added a pair of rebounds, while sophomore Tre Underwood pulled down six rebounds in an expanding role with the team.

"I thought that Zach Link played a good game and played hard," Shoemaker said. "Tre Underwood also played a good game. He continues to get better."

The road does not get any easier for the Trojans. They will travel to Chillicothe today to take on the SEOAL South Division-leading Cavaliers.

"First you've got to play hard," Shoemaker said. "Then you've got to play well. You can't win a ball game if you don't play hard."

Ironton hits the road again Friday, traveling to Warren.

CHRIS DUNHAM can be reached at chrisdunhamjr@aol.com

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Ironton 16 19 17 16 — 68

Portsmouth 4 5 21 14 — 44

Ironton—Morton 2 1 5, Kochendoerfer 6 3 16, Morris 1 3 5, Edens 2 0 4, Lamb 5 5 15, Schweickart 5 0 10, Waginger 2 4 10, Elliott 1 1 3. Totals 24 17 68.

Portsmouth—Johnson 1 0 3, Bendolph 3 3 11, Williams 9 1 19, Underwood 0 1 1, Underwood 2 0 4, Allison 1 1 3, Malone 1 0 3. Totals 17 6 44.

3-pointers—Ironton 3 (Kochendoerfer, Waginger 2); Portsmouth 4 (Bendolph 2, Malone, Johnson)

Records—Ironton 12-5 (7-3); Portsmouth 8-7 (2-7)