Well, it did not look like the preseason #1 or #2 ranking, depending on which poll you were looking at, had any kind of a negative impact on the Lyon County Lyons as they tipped off the season Tuesday night in their home gym against Vienna. The Lyons used two explosive runs, one at the beginning of the first half and one early in the second half, and big nights from ‘The Three Amigos’ to cruise to a 103-69 win in their season opener.
Travis Perry, Brady Shoulders, and Jack Reddick, aka ‘The Three Amigos’, came out firing from the opening tip as the Lyons bolted out to a 23-4 lead. The only problem early on for the Lyons was Reddick picking up a quick second foul and spending much of the first half on the bench.
The Eagles fought back and trimmed the lead to 30-16 after the opening quarter. The lead hovered around that margin for most of the second quarter and the Lyons would go off to the break with a 50-36 lead after both teams put up 20 points in the second.
The big reason Vienna was able to hang around til halftime was the second quarter play of big man Nick Johnson. The 6-6 senior, who for some reason did not play in the first quarter, scored 10 in the second quarter as the Lyon defense had no answer for the big man down in the paint. But, for some reason, the big man would not play in the 3rd quarter, and his team could have really used him. More on that in a moment.
Travis Perry and Brady Shoulders were their usual selves in the opening half, combining for 33 points, 19 of them coming from Shoulders. Reddick had only six due to foul problems, but that was about to change.
After a quick basket from the Eagles to start the second half cut the lead to 50-38, the Lyons went on another of those explosive runs that fans around the area have seen several times over the past three seasons. An 11-0 run made it 61-38 and that was essentially game, set, and match.
Jack Reddick, who had sat much of the first half, lit it up starting early in the third quarter as the Lyons pulled away.
With the score at 65-45, Lyon County drilled the final nail with a 13-0 spurt that took the lead to 78-45 and from that point the only questions were the final score and whether or not there would be a running clock, which did happen with 3:50 left in the game. Lyon County would lead 85-52 after three quarters.
Reserves for the Lyons saw a good bit of playing time over the final eight minutes of the game as Lyon County cruised out to the 34-point win.
Travis Perry finished the night with 25 points to lead the Lyons. Brady Shoulders added 23, 19 in the first half, and Jack Reddick chipped in with 21, 15 of which came after halftime.
Nick Johnson, who played less than half the game for Vienna, led the Eagles with 17 points, making you wonder why he saw so little time on the floor, as the Lyons had their hands full with him while he was in the game. Owen Treat was the other player in double figures for Vienna with 14.
Lyon County (1-0) is back in action Saturday at the Marshall County Hoopfest as they take on Whitehaven.
VHS — 16 20 16 17 – 69
LCHS — 30 20 35 18 – 103
Vienna – Johnson 17, Treat 14, Webb 9, Nichols 8, Clay 7, Constante 6, Waters 2, Winterrowd 2, Ethridge 2
Lyon County – Perry 25, Shoulders 23, Reddick 21, Kirk 9, Ca.Collins 8, Defew 7, Burchett 5, Crawford 3, Co.Collins 2
