The Hopkinsville Tigers have been on a bit of a roller coaster this season, twice putting together 4-game winning streaks while also suffering through a 6-game losing slide. The Tigers put an end to that run on Monday night, using a late blocked shot by Reece Jesse to claim a come-from-behind 51-49 victory over visiting Warren Central. The Tigers improve to 9-8 on the year, while the Dragons lose their second-straight to drop to 8-5.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 5-point lead, but went cold in the second quarter and were outscored 14-6. The Dragons took a 24-21 advantage into the halftime break.
After scoring 6 points in the first quarter, Warren Central’s Kobe Brents matched that in the third, with D’Andre Boyd also chipping in 6. Jacarius Burks scored 7 of his game-high 17 for the Tigers, but they couldn’t cut into the deficit and trailed 38-34.
Hoptown leading scorer James Nicholas had been quiet over the first three quarters, but he came to life with 9 points on three made 3-pointers to lead the comeback. Boyd put up 5 for the Dragons, and they had the ball with a chance to tie or win with seconds to play. Warren Central went for the win with a 3-point attempt from the corner, but Jesse got a hand on the shot to seal the Tigers’ 2-point win.
Burks added 8 rebounds and 3 steals to his 17 points, followed by Nicholas with 12, all on 3-pointers. Jamarion Sharp led the Tigers with 11 rebounds to go with 6 blocks.
