After building a double-digit 1st-half advantage in Tuesday’s road matchup with Kenwood, TN, the Hopkinsville Tigers withstood some hot long-distance shooting by the Knights to hold on for a 77-74 victory.
The win is the Tigers’ fourth in a row to improve to 8-4 overall. They’ll take the court again on Friday when Madisonville-North Hopkins visits Tiger Gym.
Hoptown held Kenwood to only six 1st-quarter points and Bubba Leavell scored four for the Tigers for a 15-9 lead.
Daisjaun Mercer got hot with 10 points and Isaiah Manning chipped in seven in the 2nd quarter to send the Tigers into the locker room with a 35-24 advantage.
After not connecting on a 3-pointer in the 1st half, Kenwood knocked down eight after the break to jumpstart the comeback. Jaylen Washington and Nic Boykin each scored seven to trim the Hoptown lead to 53-46 with a quarter to play.
Boykin and Washington combined for 17 in the 4th to keep the pressure on for the Knights, while Mercer scored nine more of his game-high 26, including 7/8 from the free-throw line, to keep the Tigers in front. Antonio Williams added nine on the way to 17 for the game to help seal the win.
Hopkinsville 15 20 18 24 — 77
Kenwood 6 18 22 28 — 74
Hopkinsville (8-4) — Mercer 26, Williams 17, KC Cabiness 13, Manning 10, Leavell 8, Gavin 3, Smith 2
Kenwood (5-5) — Washington 21, Boykin 16, Goody 15, Conyers 12, Barnes 4, Pappillion 4, Martin 2
