One thing that has been obvious during the preseason and the early part of this basketball season, and that is that when the Christian County Colonels decide to clamp down with the defensive pressure, they can be a handful for just about anybody. Friday night, the Colonels turned up the defensive heat to get a big lead and then held off a Hopkinsville rally late in the game to pick up a 71-61 8th District win on the Tigers home court.
The Colonels came out of the gate clicking. Behind the play of Stephen Bussell, Qua Chambers, and Jalil Farrow, Christian County bolted out to an early 9-3 lead. The Tigers battled back and, behind five first quarter points from Don Victor, cut the lead to 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.
With Christian County holding a narrow 18-16 lead early in the second, the Colonels jacked up the defensive pressure and it caused the Tigers some issues. With a combination of turnovers and missed shots hindering their offensive attack, the Tigers saw Christian County go on an 18-5 run to finish the half and take a 36-21 lead into the locker room. Mikeon Mathis and Qua Chambers, with both their pressure defense and their attacking offense, played a big role in the run to get Christian County the big lead.
With the defense still locked in, and Stephen Bussell heating up from the outside in the third quarter. Christian County looked like they were putting the game away. The lead would balloon to 20 points late in the quarter at 54-34. Four quick points at the end of the quarter from Daisjaun Mercer cut the lead to 54-38 heading into the final quarter.
The quick spurt by Mercer was just an indication of what was to come. Behind Mercer and Don Victor, the Tigers began to chew away at what had been seemingly an insurmountable lead. A Victor 3-pointer would cut the lead to 67-61 late in the game. Mathis and Chambers then iced the game away with free throws to get to the final 10 point margin.
Stephen Bussell had a huge night for the Colonels finishing with 25 points. Mikeon Mathis ended up with 15 points. Qua Chambers finished the night with 11 points for Christian County.
Hoptown’s Don Victor led all scorers with 26 points. Victor had 14 points going into the final quarter, all coming from the free throw line. Victor then knocked down four 3-pointers in the final eight minutes as a part of the Tiger rally. Daisjaun Mercer added 11 points for the Tigers.
