The Opp Bobcats fell on the road in Ashford Friday night, 54-48.

Ashford led 20-5 after the first quarter, but Opp (4-9, 1-3 in Class 4A, Area 2) cut it to 30-22 at halftime.

“We started off slow,” Opp coach Ronnie Sansom said. “We were down by 15 points and couldn’t shoot the ball and had several turnovers. But, we calmed down by halftime.”

Sansom said the team tied the game at 45 points apiece with three minutes left.

“I was proud of them fighting their way back,” he said. “With Ashford, we felt like we beat ourselves. We just dug too big of a hole early on.”

Sansom added that his team outscored Ashford 31-24 from the beginning of the second quarter until the end of the fourth.

Opp’s Tyler Harrison led with 19 points and Gavin Free had 16.

Opp will travel to play St. James next Tuesday night to continue its area play.

-Andrew Garner