The Christian County Colonels opened play at the New Year’s Bash at Graves County with a 70-67 loss to Paducah Tilghman on Friday morning, falling victim to a 10-2 Blue Tornado run to end the game. The Colonels will play Calloway County, 62-55 losers to Marion, IL, at 3:00 PM.
Bubba Leavell knocked down three 3-pointers and the Colonels raced out to a 22-12 advantage after the first quarter. Christian County continued to have the upper hand in the second and took a 36-27 lead into the halftime break.
The Colonels stretched the margin back to double figures at 43-32 with just under five minutes to play in the third, but a Paducah Tilghman run pulled it to within 4 at 52-48 after three.
The Blue Tornado started the fourth with an 8-4 surge and tied the game at 56-56 with 5:36 to play. Tilghman edged ahead at 68-67 with just :17.2 left and the Colonels turned the ball over on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul. Tilghman’s Micheal Laster converted both free throws and the Blue Tornado defense held to seal the 3-point victory.
