The Christian County Colonels may have just sent the rest of the 2nd Region a message Saturday night and they did so in emphatic fashion against their crosstown rival. That message being that they are going to be a serious regional contender when the postseason comes rolling around in just a few weeks.
The Colonels got off to a blistering start and settled the issue early as they cruised past the Hopkinsville Tigers 82-52 in Lyle Dunbar Gym. The game was quite different than the one the two teams played back on December 17 when the Colonels won 62-60 in a game that came down to the final seconds. This one was essentially settled midway through the opening quarter.
Back-to-back threes from Derrell Bateman and Breland Morrison got the Colonels off to a quick 6-0 start. A three-pointer from Bubba Leavell would cut the Colonel lead to one at 6-5, but that would be as close as the Tigers would get for the rest of the night.
Christian County was leading 9-7 when the Colonels delivered the knockout blow. With Derrell Bateman on fire, Christian County ripped off a 12-0 run to take a 21-7 lead and the margin would not get closer than 12 points for the rest of the game. The Colonel lead was 23-11 after the opening quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same. The Colonels opended the quarter with a 14-4 run to get the lead out to 22 points at 37-15. Bateman continued to light it up and when he came out for a break, George Sanders got rolling. Sanders scored 8 points in the opening half as Christian County took a 43-21 lead into the locker room.
The first half saw Christian County have one of their best outside shooting performances of the season, especially from behind the arc as they knocked down seven threes in the half. Derrell Bateman had four of those.
Bubba Leavell’s first half kept the Tigers within sight, as he had 12 first half points.
Unlike their game earlier this week against Madisonville, where the Hopkinsville Tigers pulled off a big comeback in the second half, this time Christian County would not allow that to even start to happen. Hopkinsville would trim the lead to 19 points on a couple of occasions in the third quarter, but that would be it. Christian County led 58-37 after three.
The margin would hang around 20 points until about midway through the final quarter. With the score at 65-44, Christian County came up with one more run, this one 15-6 to extend the lead to 30 points at 80-50. Thirty points would end up being the final margin.
Derrell Bateman finished the night with 24 points to lead the Colonels, with 18 coming in the first half of play. Jordan Miles added 13 points, all in the second half. George Sanders also hit double-digits with 10 points for Christian County.
Daisjaun Mercer was one of three Tigers to hit double-figures with 15 points. Bubba Leavell finished with 14, while Antonio Williams added 12 points to the cause.
Christian County moves to 11-9 with the win. The Colonels will host Fort Campbell on Thursday night.
Hopkinsville drops to 7-12 on the year and will travel to Fort Campbell Tuesday night for an 8th District contest.
HHS – 11 10 16 15 — 52
CCHS – 23 20 15 24 — 82
Hopkinsville – Mercer 15, Leavell 14, Williams 12, Smith 5, Manning 3, Johnson 2, Brycen 1
Christian County – Bateman 24, Miles 13, Sanders 10, Northington 8, Morrison 7, Riley 5, Blanton 5, Rowe 2
