Lyon County vs Breathitt County in 2022 All A Classic - YSE Photo
When the Lyon County Lyons take to the court in the Corbin Arena next Thursday they will be looking to make history by picking up the school’s first-ever boys’ win in the All A Classic. Yes, first win.
Lyon County has made the trip to the All A Classic state tournament five previous times since 2001 with some pretty good teams, but somehow the Lyons have found themselves on the wrong end of the score in the first round of the statewide tourney each time.
In 2001, the Lyons rolled through the 2nd Region All A tournament with double-digit wins over Trigg County, Providence, and Crittenden County. Lyon County would fall to Fort Knox 65-46 in the All A Classic state tournament in Richmond.
Ty Rogers and the Lyons were back in the state tournament in 2023. The Lyons beat Trigg County and Crittenden County and then knocked off the defending state All A champ University Heights in overtime in the regional final. However, Lyon would be knocked out by Somerset in their first game of the state tourney.
Lyon County would end a five-year run for University Heights in 2009 as they claimed their third All A regional championship. That season, the Lyons would beat Critteden County, UHA, and Fort Campbell to reach the state tournament. However, Edmonson County knocked out the Lyons in the opening round of the state tournament at EKU.
Lyon County would wait for 12 years for another chance in the All A Classic. That was an eventful 2021 tournament indeed. Already dealing with the limitations of playing in the midst of a pandemic, the weather decided to get involved that year. Lyon County, with Travis Perry as a freshman, won the 2nd Region All A Classic and was ready to head to Richmond. However, a winter storm led officials to initially cancel the event.
But a firestorm of criticism led officials to reschedule the All A Classic with a modified format. Lyon County would fall to 1st Region champion Murray in Eddyville in the opening round of the tournament.
The one that likely sticks the most with Lyon County fans is the Lyons’ 2022 appearance in the All A Classic. Lyon County rolled through regional tournament wins over Crittenden County, Heritage Christian, and Caldwell County to earn a second straight trip to the statewide event.
In Richmond, the Lyons appeared to be on the verge of making history that season, but it was not to be. The Lyons entered the final quarter of their first round game with Breathitt County leading 49-42. The lead would grow to 56-44 with 4:20 left in the game.
But then Breathitt County started a run that the Lyons just could not get stopped. Breathitt scored 12 straight to tie the game and then would take a late 62-60 lead. Lyon County would miss two shots in the final five seconds as they saw their All A Classic title hopes slip away.
After being knocked off by UHA in the first round of the All A regional tournament in 2023, the Lyons have appeared to be very, very, very focused on rewriting some history in the All A Classic. That story hopefully begins and does not end, with a battle against Owensboro Catholic a week from Thursday in Corbin.
