Second Chances Send Hopkinsville Back to Regional Final

When the Hopkinsville Tigers needed him the most, Antonio Williams was there big time. On the other hand, when the Henderson County Colonels needed their free throws the most, they weren’t there.

Williams scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and Henderson missed their final three free throws in the final minute of the game with the game on the line as the Tigers return to the 2nd Region championship game with a 69-60 win over the Colonels Monday night.

Williams sizzled in the final quarter, going 7 of 8 from the field in the 4th quarter and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. He then capped off his stellar quarter with a highlight reel jam sending the Tiger fans into a roaring frenzy and Hopkinsville into a region final rematch with Lyon County.

Things got off to a bit of a bumpy start for the Tigers. Big man Antonio Williams picked up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game and headed off to the bench. Isaish Manning stepped up inside to help cover the absence of Williams. Out on the floor, KeiMarion Smith and Jacob Gavin delivered the early offense for Hopkinsville.

Smith and Gavin helped to ignite a 9-4 spurt to close out the first quarter that transformed a 7-6 lead into a 16-10 margin.

Neither team shot the ball well in the opening quarter, but Hopkinsville’s balanced effort and attack of the basket was enough to give the Tigers the six-point margin.

The lead was still at six at 18-12 when Henderson County got a little run going and battled back to tie things up at 18-18. Isaiah Manning and Bubba Leavell scored baskets to push Hoptown back out to a 22-18 lead. But some bad shots and a couple of Tiger miscues opened the door for the Colonels and they walked through it.

Sparked by a couple of threes from Cooper Davenport, Henderson County went on a 14-2 run to take a 32-24 lead.

Jacob Gavin kept things from completely getting away late in the half with a big three-point play in the final minute to cut the margin to 32-27 at the half.

Outside of the foul problems for Antonio Williams, the story of the first half was shooting. Henderson was 10 of 21 from the field while the Tigers were just 10 of 30. The Colonels were 10 of 10 at the free-throw line. Hoptown was perfect at the line too in the opening half, but only got five chances at the line.

Both teams came out of the break with their offenses ready to roll. In the first 90 seconds of the second half, the two teams combined to score 11 points, most of them coming from the Tigers as they cut the lead to 36-34. Hopkinsville would pull even at 41-41 on Antonio Williams’ first basket of the night with 3:50 to go in the third.

The teams traded baskets out for the rest of the quarter, which ended with the score all knotted up at 46-46.

The final quarter was back and forth until a Williams basket gave the Tigers the lead for good at 56-55. Baskets from Bubba Leavell and Williams extended the lead to 60-55 with 1:22 to go.

Henderson fans briefly had hope when Gerard Thomas drilled a three to cut it to 60-58, but there would be no comeback in the final minute for the Colonels. With the score at 62-20, Hopkinsville scored the final seven points to put the game away, as Henderson, after making their first 14 free throws, missed their last three and missed them at the time when they needed them the most.

Antonio Williams led five Tigers in double-figures with 19 points and five rebounds. Bubba Leavell had 13 points, including some key points late in the game. KeiMarion Smith and Jacob Gavin ended up with 12 points each. Isaiah Manning, who was huge when Williams sat with first half foul trouble, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Cooper Davenport kept the Colonels in the game with 20 points. Gerard Thomas added 15 points.

The stat of the night was second-chance points, where Hopkinsville outscored Henderson 23-0, thanks to 12 crucial offensive rebounds. The Tigers came down with 46 percent of their own missed shots.

The win improves the Tigers to 15-16 for the season and moves Hopkinsville into the 2nd Region championship game for the second straight year. The Tigers lost to Lyon County 87-69 last year.

Henderson County finishes the 2022-2023 season with a record of 22-9.