It was just that quick. One moment, the Lyon County Lyons were in a tooth and nail battle with the St. Mary Vikings. The next moment, the Lyons had blown open the game. Lyon County finished the game on a 25 to 3 run to pick up the 88-70 win over St. Mary in the second game of the Akridge Ace Hardware Shootout Saturday afternoon in Eddyville.
The Vikings gave indication from the opening tip that they were in the game for the long haul. There were two ties and seven lead changes in the first eight minutes of the game. A late basket from Bryce Haas put St. Mary in front 17-15 at the end of the opening quarter. Jackson Shoulders kept the Lyons in the contest early, scoring seven points in the first quarter.
The second quarter saw more of the same. There were four ties and three lead changes as neither team could gain any separation from the other. The Lyons were able to keep right with the Vikings thanks to a strong quarter at the free throw line. At one point, Lyon County scored 11 straight points from the charity stripe. As the half came to an end, the Lyons left the court with a tenuous two point lead at 36-34.
Not much changed when the two teams came out of the locker room to start the second half. The back and forth battle continued. There was a tie and four more lead changes. The Lyons appeared to be making their move to gain control of the game when the went on an 11-4 run to go up 47-41 thanks to the efforts of Jackson Shoulders, Travis Perry, and Nick Whalin. But the Vikings would not quite go that quietly.
With Bryce Haas and Colin Doss leading the way, St. Mary outscored the Lyons 19-9 over the rest of the quarter to take a 60-56 lead and to take full possession of the momentum.
The Vikings continued to hold the lead through the early portion of the 4th quarter. Then, with St. Mary leading 67-63, the momentum pendulum took a swing towards the Lyon County side, and it was not just a little swing either. The Lyon County press, which had not been very effective through much of the game, began to look like ten men on the court to the Vikings. Instead of layups, the St. Mary began to turn the ball over, and the Lyons were more than willing to take advantage of the opportunities.
The Lyon first hit the Vikings with an 8-0 run to go up 71-67. Then, holding a 75-70 lead, Lyon County finished the game out by scoring the final 13 points to pick up the 18 point win.
Travis Perry led all scorers in the game with 26 points for Lyon County. Jackson Shoulders finished the day with 25 points. Nick Whalin also had a big day for the Lyons with 17 points. Gunnar Bingham also reached double figures with 10 points.
St. Mary was led by Colin Doss with 25 points. Bryce Haas added 16 points. Parker MacCauley also reached double figures for the Vikings with 11 points.
Free throws were a big part of the win for Lyon County, as they were 33 of 44 from the line. The Vikings finished 12 of 21 at the charity line.
The Lyon improve to 16-9 with the win, which was the 6th in their last seven games.
