It must have felt like the sky was falling at times for the South Warren Spartans Thursday night at the Marshall County Hoopfest. Led by Travis Perry with eight, the Lyons unleashed a barrage of 16 made three-pointers on their way to a 94-65 rout over South Warren in Reed Conder Gym.
Both teams got up and down the court in the first eight minutes of the game. But Travis Perry was the story of the quarter, finishing with 12 points to lead the Lyon County effort as the Lyons took a 23-17 lead after the first. The margin might have been bigger if not for a few ball-handling miscues.
The Spartans opened the second quarter with five quick points to cut the lead to just one at 23-22. But then the Spartans found out what many teams have discovered over the past couple of seasons. That being that when the shots start falling from outside for the Lyons, the margin can sometimes grow in a hurry.
With the Lyons knocking down five shots from behind the 3-point line in the second quarter the difference went from one point to 11, the final three points coming on a Perry bomb just ahead of the horn at the half as the Lyons ran off the court and into the locker room with a more comfortable 11 point lead. Perry finished the half with 22 points, including four shots from behind the arc.
If not for the play of Brandon Rowe and Bryce Button in the first 16 minutes, South Warren would have been on a quick trip back to Bowling Green. The duo combined to score 19 points for the Spartans to keep them within shouting distance.
The bad news for South Warren was that after the Lyons made seven three-pointers in the first half, they would make even more in the second half.
Early in the third, South Warren cut the lead to six at 48-42, and then “the walls of Jericho” came crashing down. The Lyons scored ten straight to run the lead out to 58-42 and it was game, set, and match. The margin would be 67-48 after the third.
The lead would reach as many as 33 in the final quarter before things settled in for the final 29 point margin.
The ‘Three Amigos’ were at it again for the Lyons. Perry led the way with 36. A pretty solid performance with the head coaches from Purdue and Missouri sitting at courtside. Jack Reddick finished with 25, 18 of them coming in the second half. Brady Shoulders had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
South Warren was led by Brandon Rowe with 18 points. Bryce Sutton added 15 for the Spartans.
The Lyons improve to 2-0 on the season and will get back to action Saturday in the PRTC Classic in Jackson County when they take on Mason County.
SWHS – 17 15 16 17 — 65
LCSH – 23 20 24 27 — 94
South Warren (1-1) – Rowe 18, Button 15, Linhardt 12, Posey 11, Goley 3, Degenhart 3, Posey 2
Lyon County (2-0) – Perry 36, Reddick 25, Shoulders 20, Kirk 4, Cooper Collins 3, Breedlove 2, Suitor 2
