If the Hopkinsville Tigers put together a full game like the first sixteen minutes they played Friday night, they are going to be a very very tough out in the postseason. The Tigers looked nearly unstoppable as they jumped out to a 20 point first-half lead over Madisonville-North Hopkins on the way to a 75-61 win at Tiger Gym.
Using an attacking offense and pressure defense, the Tigers dominated the first half of play. Hoptown took a 6-0 lead and would extend that to 16-6 by the end of the opening quarter. Daisjaun Mercer was the engine that drove the train in the opening half, using his speed and athleticism to get to the basket and either scoring or creating opportunities for others.
With Mercer attacking, Antonio Williams and Olajuwon White were able to get points in the paint as the lead continued to grow for the Tigers.
The second quarter saw more of the same for Hoptown. With the lead at 23-11, the Tigers ripped off a brutal 12-0 run to take their lead out to the biggest of the game at 24 points at 35-11. The half ended with the Tigers up 37-17.
Hoptown’s defense had limited Madisonville’s potent guard combination of Kale Gaither and Danye Frazier to just two points combined. Frazier picked up two quick fouls and spent the rest of the half on the bench.
The Tiger defense had also forced the Maroons into ball security issues. Madisonville had 11 turnovers in the opening half of play.
It felt as if the Tigers were on the verge of running the Maroons all the way back up the parkway. Then came the start of the second half, and things changed a bit.
Defensively, the Maroons opened the third quarter almost daring the Tigers to shoot the deep ball. And, for a stretch, Hopkinsville took the bait. The Tigers got away from driving hard to the basket and settling for three-point shots, which, while they were open, would not fall.
Madisonville also cut back on the turnovers against the Hopkinsville pressure. Add in that Gaither and Frazier got going, and the Maroons started mounting a comeback effort.
Madisonville was still down 20 at 51-31, but the Maroons closed out the third quarter with a 10-4 spurt that trimmed the lead to 55-41 at the end of the quarter.
The Maroons would cut the lead back to single digits early in the 4th quarter at 59-51, but that would be as close as they could get.
The Tigers found their stride again, attacking the basket, and went on a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back out to 69-53 and ended the Maroon comeback threat. Bubba Leavell and K.C. Cabiness made big plays for the Tigers coming down to the finish.
Hopkinsville had five players reach double figures, led by Bubba Leavell with 14. Antonio Williams and Daisjaun Mercer added 13 points each. K.C. Cabiness finished with 12 points. And, Isaiah Manning hit double digits with 10 points.
The Maroons were led by Kale Gaither with 23, 21 of them coming in the second half. Danye Frazier added 13 points, all of them after halftime. Landon Cline and Zach Tow had 8 points each.
Hopkinsville improves to 9-4 with the win. The Tigers are set to be back in action Tuesday when they host Clarksville Northwest.
Madisonville falls to 12-5, and is on the road Saturday at Evansville Bosse.
MNHHS — 6 11 24 20 – 61
HHS — 16 21 18 20 – 75
Madisonville (12-5) – Gaither 23, Frazier 13, Tow 8, Cline 8, McAdoo 6, Gaines 3
Hopkinsville (9-4) – Leavell 14, Mercer 13, Williams 13, Cabiness 12, Manning 10, White 8, Smith 3, West 2
