The Lyon County boys’ basketball team celebrated senior night with a 67-57 win over the visiting Fort Campbell Falcons on Thursday night. The Lyons have won three straight and appear to be playing their best basketball of the season, improving to 6-13 with the win. The Falcons lose their fourth straight and slip to 3-15.
Fort Campbell junior guard Julian Roberts drove and scored to tie the game at 6 with 5:23 left in the first quarter, before a three pointer by freshman guard Travis Yancy jump started a Lyon run that gave them a 14-8 lead with 3:40 to go in the period. A lay in by sophomore forward Jorden Clark pulled the Falcons to within three, but a three pointer by junior point guard Gabe Board, part of his 10-point first quarter, restored the Lyons’ 6-point lead. The Lyons couldn’t convert on two shots right before the buzzer, and settled with a 21-13 lead after eight minutes.
The lead hovered around 6 for most of the second quarter, before a turn around in the lane by Falcons’ junior forward Cameron Johnson cut the lead to 3 at 26-23. However, a Board three and a basket by freshman guard Kade Blackburn pushed the Lyons’ lead out to 8 with 2:10 left in the half. The Falcons wouldn’t get any closer than 6 for the rest of the second quarter, although Clark nearly knocked down a deep three at the buzzer that would have cut the lead to 3, and the Lyons took a 31-25 lead into the halftime break.
Board led the Lyons with 14 first-half points, followed by senior forward Max Wadlington with 6, and Yancy with 5. Clark scored 11 for the Falcons, with senior guard Austin Mergele putting in 6.
Two Wadlington free throws and a basket by 8th grade power forward Jackson Shoulders gave the Lyons their first double-digit lead at 35-25 with just over a minute played in the third quarter. Mergele scored 4 straight points to trim the lead back to 6, but Lyon answered with 5 in a row, with a three-point play by Wadlington stretching the lead to 11 at 40-29. A three by senior forward Ryan Sollom pulled the Falcons to 40-35 with four minutes left in the quarter, but Blackburn drilled a three with :36 on the clock, and the Lyons held a 52-39 lead after three quarters.
The teams went back and forth for most of the final period, with the Falcons unable to make a dent in the Lyons’ lead. With just over a minute to play, a layup by freshman guard Marcus Averhart on an assist from senior guard Julian Roberts cut the lead to 13. A short time later, Averhart stepped to the line with a chance to trim the lead to 10, but he missed both attempts. Johnson hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to 12, and a score and foul from Clark could have gotten the lead to single digits, but he missed the free throw and the Falcons ran out of time, losing 67-57.
Board’s 20 led all scorers, followed closely by Wadlington with 17. Wadlington and Matthew Brown were honored between games of the boy/girl doubleheader, the lone seniors on the Lyons’ roster. Shoulders finished with 15, Blackburn had 8, Yancy scored 5, and freshman guard Clay Haines had a bucket to close out the Lyons’ scoring.
Clarks’ 15 points and 15 rebounds led the Falcons, with Roberts and Margele both scoring 12. Johnson finished with 6, Sollom and Averhart both had 5, and junior guard Jaylen Allen scored 2.
The Lyons return to their home floor on Saturday, welcoming the St. Mary Vikings to Eddyville. The Falcons play Saturday as well, going on the road to face the Webster County Trojans.
