It took a couple of quarters but Muhlenberg County showed why they are the defending Third Region basketball champions as they used an 18-1 second half run to bury Christian County and claim a 59-40 opening night win at Lyle Dunbar Gymnasium.
Muhlenberg county led wire to wire as Christian County didn’t get on the scoreboard Kevarius Vaughn made a layup with 3:26 to go in the opening quarter. Despite the lack of offensive firepower, Christian County‘s defense played well at times.
The Colonels trailed 8-6 after one quarter but Muhlenberg County used a 9-0 run in the second quarter to build a 12-point lead. The Mustangs led 28-19 at halftime.
Colonel turnovers spelled their doom in the third quarter as seven miscues lead to 12 Muhlenberg points. The Mustangs led 47-29 after three quarters as they used an 18-1 run at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth.
Christian county ended the run with 4:30 left in the game, but by that time, Muhlenberg was in control with a 53-31 lead. Christian County finished with 18 turnovers, with 12 coming in the second half. However, their defense forced 14 Muhlenberg County turnovers.
The Mustangs counteracted that by shooting 44% from the field and hitting 6 of 15 behind the arc.
Christian County shot 31% from the field and only hit 1 of 8 from long range.
Muhlenberg’s balance showed up in the scorebook as nine players scored and three reached double figures. Trey Lovell led with 11 points, and Asher Carver and Donovon McCoy each scored 10 points. Cole Vincent scored five points but had eight rebounds and four assists.
Christian County got 11 points and five rebounds from Derrell Bateman. Jordan Miles and Kevarius Vaughn both had seven points.
Muhlenberg County was 19-2 last year in winning the Third Region before falling to eventual state champion Highlands in the first round of the state tournament. Kyle Eades’ Mustangs have six of their eight leading scorers returning from last year.
Their win snapped a three-game losing streak to the Colonels, however, Christian County still leads the all-time series 7 -3.
Christian County has dropped 13 straight games over the past three seasons and will look to get back on the winning track Saturday when they travel to Marion, Illinois to play the host school in their pre-holiday classic.
Muhlenberg County 8 20 19 12– 59
Christian County 6 13 10 11– 40
Muhlenberg County [1-0] – Lovell 11, Carver 10, McCoy 10, Ray 8, Summers 6, Vincent 5, Jernigan 4, Johnson 3, Lovan 2
Christian County [0-1] – Bateman 11, Miles 7, K. Vaughn 7, Farrow 6, Riley 4, Morrison 4, Gilmore 1
