With just over a week left before the start of district tournaments, Lyon County is still the favorite to win a third straight region title. However, it’s going to be a grind.
The Lyons fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter but flipped things midway through the second quarter and came away with a 73-70 win at Maroon Gym on Friday.
Early on it looked like Madisonville was ready to snap its three-game losing streak to Lyon – the longest in series history.
Montae Ratliff got the Maroons off to a 9-3 start with a trio of threes in Madisonville’s first five possessions.
Madisonville was able to control the tempo and build its lead to 20-9 midway through the quarter.
Travis Perry scored 35 points and helped spark the second quarter rally with 11 points. The Lyons took its first lead at 31-30 with 2:00 left in the half.
“They came out really hot. I think this is definitely a game that they had earmarked on the calendar that they were really wanting to get after,” Lyon County coach Ryan Perry said. “ Hats off to those guys. They came out and they played. They hit us right in the mouth and had us down 20-9. They were doing whatever they wanted. We weren’t executing our game plan at all and they had all kinds of momentum.”
Lyon County regained the momentum with a 35-33 halftime lead. Madisonville began the third quarter with a deliberate approach, but when they failed to hit shots, the Lyons countered with a 9-3 run to begin the half.
Brady Shoulders scored seven of his 15 points in the decisive third quarter. Up 53-45 to begin the final quarter, Perry hit a 3-pointer and Bray Kirk followed with a steal and feed to Shoulders for a slam and a 58-45 lead with 6:48 left.
“Early in the game, we’re kind of letting the game come to us a little bit. Our guys kind of began to press the issue a little bit there in the second quarter. And give credit to Lyon County, they’re a really good team. So we kind of punched first, and they came right back in that second quarter,” Madisonville coach Caleb Nelson said. “We made some uncharacteristic plays and got a little bit away from what we were doing early that was allowing us to be successful.”
Madisonville took advantage of consecutive Lyon County turnovers to get as close as 60-55 with three minutes left.
Lyon pushed the lead back to 8-10 points with a minute left. Landen Smith hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to get the Maroons to within 71-67.
After a pair of Perry free throws, Ratliff hit a 3-pointer at the horn for the final margin.
Madisonville hit nine 3-pointers with Ratliff burying five of them for a team-high 22 points. Kanyon Johnson added 12 points and six rebounds.
The Maroons began the season with four losses of at least 18 points in its first 17 games. They have since moved three games above .500 and Nelson thinks they are playing their best ball at the right time.
“I just hope that we can continue to trend in the right direction headed down the last stretch of the regular season and into the postseason,” he said. “We’ve talked all year about just growing a little bit and a little bit and a little bit and we feel like we’re doing that not only on the floor but in the locker room and just coming together.”
Lyon County’s win was its fourth straight in the series, but Madisonville still leads all-time 40-9.
The Lyons have played just twice in nine days after a whirlwind December schedule and a January trip to the All A Classic State Tournament.
“We had a really big win against Bowling Green last week. That was a big one for us to get. We had several days off and it looked like we had five or six days off,” Perry said. “I was kind of glad that we were able to settle in and get a little bit back although we never really got any rhythm tonight. Give credit to them. They made us play the way they wanted to play and we were just lucky to get to win.”
Shoulders added 12 rebounds and four assists to his 12 points. Lukas Breedlove scored eight points and had four rebounds.
Jack Reddick scored six points and handed out four assists. He left the game in the second quarter after smacking his head on the floor during a tumble on defense. He was able to get the bleeding wound covered and return to play.
Two of Lyon County’s final three games are against teams considered the preseason favorite to win their region. The Lyons will host Adair County (22-5) of the 5th Region on Saturday and will host Calloway County (16-8) of the 1st Region next Saturday.
Lyon County 13 22 18 20– 73
Madisonville 22 11 12 25– 70
Lyon County (24-3) – Perry 35, Shoulders 15, Breedlove 8, Reddick 6, Kirk 6, Car. Collins 3
Madisonville (15-12) – Ratliff 22, Johnson 12, Smith 11, Wilkes 8, Gant 5, Adler 5, Richardson 5, Howard 2
