In a game that featured a battle of the big men in the second half of play, the Hopkinsville Tigers had bit more will power down inside than did the Owensboro Red Devils Monday night. Or should be say a bit more ‘Will-iams’ power.
Hopkinsville’s Antonio Williams had a huge night with 27 points and 21 rebounds, and the Tigers needed every bit of it as they fought off the Red Devils 80-75 in the First United Bank Holiday Classic at Madisonville-North Hopkins. At times, during the second half, the game felt like a battle between Williams and Owensboro’s big man Abdul Mitchell.
The game was tied eight times in the second half, the last coming at 62-62. Even when the Tigers pulled out to a 74-67 lead with less than a minute to go, the Red Devils simply would not go away. A layup, followed by a steal that resulted in a layup, brought Owensboro to within 74-71 with still 37.7 seconds left.
Hoptown used free throws to push the lead out to 78-72, but the Red Devils had just a little bit more in em. Talas Taylor drained a three with .8 seconds to go to make it 78-75, but there would be no ‘miracle’ for the Devils late. On the inbounds pass, Antonio Willliams broke clear and slammed it home just ahead of the horn to finally seal the win.
The game started off as if the Tigers were just gonna run away and hide. With a strong start from Isaiah Manning, Hoptown bolted out to a 15-4 lead. The lead would be 21-12 after the opening quarter.
Any thoughts of a blowout quickly evaporated as the second quarter got rolling. Kenyatta Carbon heated up for Owensboro as the Red Devils hit the Tigers with a 9-0 run to open the second quarter, tying the game at 21-21 and the battle was set for the rest of the night.
Hopkinsville used a 7-2 spurt at the end of the half to take a 37-32 lead into the locker room.
The Red Devils battled back and tied the game at 46-46. The game would be tied three more times in the quarter before the Red Devils took a little momentum with a 54-52 lead after three.
In addition to Williams’ monster night, Hopkinsville got 18 points from Isaiah Manning and 14 points from KeiMarion Smith. Daisjaun Mercer had eight points before fouling out with 6:14 left in the game.
Kenyatta Carbon was the Red Devils’ leading scorer with 22. Abdul Mitchell finished with 21 points. Talas Taylor added 17.
Hopkinsville improves to 3-4 with the win. The Tigers will play in the winner’s bracket semifinals Tuesday night at 7:00.
HHS – 21 16 15 28 — 80
OHS – 12 20 22 21 — 75
Hopkinsville – Williams 27, Manning 18, Smith 14, Mercer 8, Leavell 7, Gavin 4. Johnson 2
Owensboro – Carbon 22, Mitchell 21, Taylor 17, Powell 4, Pendleton 4, Moss 2, Rogers 2, Johnson 2
