(Todd Griffin Photo)
Like they did in their quarterfinal win over Christian County Tuesday, Madisonville used a strong second half to pick up a Second Region Tournament win. The Maroons used a 14-0 second half run to knock off Henderson County 66-49 Friday and advance to the region championship game. Madisonville will play University Heights Academy, a 96-60 winner over Caldwell County.
The Maroons saw a 10-point second quarter lead chipped to 44-43 with 3:37 left in the third quarter on an Edmund Brooks layup. Madisonville answered with the next 14 points as Marquise Parker had six points, and Kenny White had five points to spark the run. The Colonels missed seven shots and turned the ball over four times during the decisive run.
Madisonville never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 13-5 lead early when Keshawn Stone knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, and J.D. Gilbert added one.
Henderson stayed close the rest of the half as Corey Stewart scored 13 points. The Maroons built their lead to 10 points just before halftime, but an Edmund Brooks bucket pulled Henderson to within 37-29 at intermission.
Following their 14-0 run, Madisonville led by as many as 19 points before settling for the final 17-point margin.
Madisonville connected on 23-of-44 shots from the field (52-percent) and hit 16-of-20 at the free throw line.
Henderson County didn’t shoot poorly (45-percent) but committed 17 turnovers that led to 19 Maroon points. Madisonville also held a 27-14 advantage on the boards.
Mykel Sanners led Henderson County (16-12) with 17 points, while Stewart scored just two points in the second half and finished with 15.
Madisonville had three players in double-figures, led by K’suan Casey’s 19 points and six rebounds. Kenny White added 18 points and eight boards, and Keshawn Stone added 11 points.
Madisonville (28-5) will take a 21-game winning streak into Saturday’s 6pm championship game against University Heights (30-4). UHA edged Madisonville 80-79 back on Dec. 13 in Hopkinsville.
