After overcoming a slow start and taking the lead into halftime of Tuesday’s matchup with visiting Henderson County, the Hopkinsville Tigers couldn’t find enough points down the stretch to avoid a 62-52 loss to the Colonels.
Henderson entered the contest winners of four of its last five, and the Colonels led by six after Gerard Thomas capped his seven-point quarter with a three-pointer. However, Hopkinsville’s Antonio Williams answered with a shot from behind the arc just ahead of the buzzer, and the Tigers trailed 16-10.
Hopkinsville rallied in the second quarter and took its first lead of the game when Williams blocked a shot at one end and went coast to coast for a layup and a 20-19 score with 3:13 left in the half.
A KeiMarion Smith three-pointer and a bucket by Bubba Leavell put the Tigers up 27-21, but the margin was three at the break after Trajdon Davis beat the buzzer for the Colonels.
Henderson opened the second half with four straight points and would lead the rest of the way. Cooper Davenport and Jake Rideout each scored six points in the third for the Colonels. Hoptown’s Jakob Gavin connected on a three with :33 left, and the Tigers trailed 44-40 with a quarter to play.
With 2:34 left, Williams came up with a steal and dunk to force a Henderson timeout with the score 53-47. Leavell followed with a steal and layup out of the break to cut it to four with just over a minute left, but the Tigers wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
Hopkinsville has alternated wins and losses over its last four games to stand at 5-8 and will travel to McCracken County on Thursday.
Williams’ 15 points led the Tigers, followed by Smith with 12.
Thomas led all scorers with 17, pacing a balanced effort from the Colonels that saw Davenport and Rideout also reach double figures.
Henderson 16 9 19 18 — 62
Hopkinsville 10 18 12 12 — 52
Henderson (9-5) — Thomas 17, Davenport 15, Rideout 12, Satterfield 9, Davis 8
Hopkinsville (5-8) — Williams 15, Smith 12, Leavell 9, Mercer 8, Gavin 6, Manning 2
