The last time the Lyon County Lyons and the Christian County Colonels hooked up back in January, it was a really tough, physical game. Coming into Thursday night’s region quarterfinal at Hopkinsville High School between the same two teams, no one in the near-capacity crowd was expecting anything else than another down-in-the-trenches kind of game, and that was exactly what they got.
Lyon County took control of a tight game with a strong third quarter and then kept the Colonels arm’s length for the rest of the game on their way to a 63-49 win. The win sends the Lyons to Monday night’s second semifinal game at Tiger Gym.
Once again for Lyon County, it was ‘The Run’ that decided the game. This time it happened during the third quarter as the Lyons used a 16-4 blitz to turn a 26-26 tie into a 42-30 lead. Christian County would get no closer than eight points for the rest of the game.
The Christian County Colonels had to have been happy with how the first quarter played out. The Colonels got the tempo of the game at a pace they liked and did not let the Lyons get started on one of their big runs.
The only bad thing about the first quarter for the Colonel was that Derrell Bateman picked up two fouls. The Colonels also contained Travis Perry over the first eight minutes, allowing the presumptive Mr. Basketball just one three-pointer.
The Lyons did get a strong effort on the glass early, with Brady Shoulders and Lukas Breedlove going toe-to-toe down low with Bateman and Theo Quarles.
Christian County got a bit of momentum in the final moments of the quarter as the Colonels closed out on a 5-2 spurt to lead 14-11 after one.
The Lyons came out gunning to start the second. Back-to-back threes from Perry and Shoulders quickly put the Lyons up 17-14. But the Colonels hung tough and never gave Lyon County a chance to pull away in the second. In fact, there were five lead changes on five straight scores coming down the stretch of the first half.
A Travis Perry basket late in the second sent the two teams off to the locker room knotted up at 24-24. In good news for Christian County, Derrell Bateman was able to spend most of the second quarter on the floor and did not pick up his third foul, which was huge as Bateman ended the half with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Lyons’ outside shooting kept them close in the quarter as each of ‘The Three Amigos’ knocked down a shot from deep.
Turnovers were not a big factor for either team, as Christian County had six and Lyon County had five in the first 16 minutes of the game.
The teams came out of the locker room and traded baskets to make it 26-26. But then ‘The Run’ came and it would turn out to be the difference in the game. The third quarter ended with the Lyons up 44-32. Five different Lyons scored in the third as Lyon County took firm possession of the game.
Christian County desperately tried to make a late run to get back into the game. Three different times, the Colonels would get within eight points, but they could get no closer as Travis Perry and Brady Shoulders did what the Lyons needed to do to hold on for the win.
Lyon County’s Travis Perry finished the game with 21 points, including 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the final quarter. Brady Shoulders added 20 points and 9 rebounds. Lukas Breedlove had 8 points, 7 rebounds and made several other big plays on both ends of the court.
Derrell Bateman finished his Christian County career with a 19-point, 11-rebound performance. Jordan Miles added 13 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. JaSean Riley chipped in 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Christian County sees its season finish at 16-17.
Lyon County now goes to 30-3 and gets ready for a rematch against Madisonville in Monday night’s semifinals. The Lyons picked up a 73-70 road win over the Maroons back on February 16.
LCHS — 11 13 20 19 – 63
CCHS — 14 10 8 17 – 49
Lyon County – Perry 21, Shoulders 20, Breedlove 8, Kirk 7, Reddick 7,
Christian County – Bateman 19, Miles 13, Riley 9, Northington 4, Charles 4
