A game between two crosstown rivals, with plenty of talent on both sides, and with the season on the line, you would expect to come down to the final moments. And that is exactly what happened between the Hopkinsville Tigers and the University Heights Academy Blazers Monday night in the second 8th District semifinal in Lyle Dunbar Gym at Christian County High School.
Bubba Leavell scored on a drive down the lane with 36.5 seconds left to give Hopkinsville a 53-52 lead and then Antonio Williams knocked down two free throws with 7.7 seconds left to secure a 55-52 win for the Tigers. A UHA three-point attempt just ahead of the buzzer was off the mark as the celebration erupted on the Hopkinsville sideline.
The game was one where every rebound was a battle, where shots in the lane drew plenty of attention and contact, and where defensive pressure was unleashed from one end to the other. Both teams had their struggles from the field, due primarily to the defense from the other.
There were moments in the contest where it looked like the Blazers were about ready to put the game in their hip pocket, but on this night, the Hopkinsville Tigers were just not willing to go away.
UHA bolted out to an early 8-point lead and held a 14-8 lead after the opening quarter. At that point, you felt like the Blazers were in position to take early control of the game. But, after scoring the last two points of the first quarter, the Tigers scored the first 9 of the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead.
Most of the second quarter was a back-and-forth struggle. Hopkinsville got some big plays from KeiMarion Smith, while the Blazers got big minutes from Cameron Brown and Matthew Hauret. UHA seemed to seize the momentum going into the break as the Blazers scored the last nine points of the half to go up 31-26.
While the battle of the boards was fairly close in the opening half, it felt like all of the key rebounds in the second half ended up in the hands of the Tigers as their length and size in the paint began to be a bit of a problem for the Blazers, especially with big man Elijah Walton not available for the contest.
The third quarter was an indicator of how things were going to come down to the wire. After the five-point lead at the half, the Blazers would lead by no more than four points in the third as the quarter ended with UHA clinging to a 43-42 lead.
One of the stories of the night was the Hopkinsville defensive effort on UHA’s Lemar Northington. The Tigers limited Northington to just one field goal and six points on the night. Plus, when the game was on the line, Hoptown did not allow Northington to heat up and make big shots as he had been able to do most of the season.
On the other side, after being held to just two points in the first half, Antonio Williams came up big for the Tigers in the second half on both ends of the court. Hopkinsville also began to drive the ball to the basket, attacking the Blazers with KeiMarion Smith and Bubba Leavell.
UHA would push the lead out to five early in the fourth, but they could never get the knockout blow delivered. The Tigers roared back, cutting the lead to 50-48 late in the game. Bubba Leavell then put Hoptown up on a drive to the basket for an and-one making it 51-50.
Gavin Grubbs pushed the ball up the floor and scored to put UHA up 52-51. That set the stage for Leavell’s drive of the night and the game-sealing free throws from Antonio Williams.
KeiMarion Smith led the Tigers with 17 points. Antonio Willliams and Bubba Leavell finished with 12 points each. Ten of Williams’ points came in the second half.
Gavin Grubbs was the top Blazer with 14 points. Cameron Brown added 10 for the Blazers.
University Heights sees its season end at 19-11.
Hopkinsville improves to 13-15 with its 5th win in its last six games and advances to the district championship game Thursday for the third straight season where they will face Christian County for the second straight year.
UHA – 14 17 12 09 – 52
HHS – 08 18 16 13 – 55
University Heights – Grubbs 14, C. Brown 10, Hauret 7, Wallace 6, Northington 6, Quarles 4, J. Brown 3, Baker 2
Hopkinsville – Smith 17, Williams 12, Leavell 12, Manning 9, Gavin 5
