When the Lyon County Lyons needed a little ‘warp speed’ to put the Adair County Indians away Friday afternoon, they turned to Kirk. No, not Captain James T. Kirk, but the newly commissioned ‘Captain’ Bray Kirk. Kirk scored the first nine points of the second half as part of an overall 14-0 run to put the Lyons in control and setting course to the state semifinals with an 80-65 win over the Adair County Indians in the quarterfinal round of the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16.
Kirk finished the day with 18 points but none were bigger than the 9 that effectively put the game into the Lyon Count victory column.
The run may have actually been jump-started in the final seconds of the first half when Travis Perry hit a three just ahead of the buzzer to give th Lyons a 30-20 lead going into the break. Coach Ryan Perry had called a timeout to set up the play and the Lyons executed it to perfection.
After Kirk scored the first nine points of the second half, Brady Shoulders, who had been a beast in the first half inside for Lyon County, capped off the run with a basket that put the Lyons up 41-20. The Lyons would never be seriously threatened the rest of the afternoon as the Indians could get no closer than 15 from that point.
At the start, it looked as if the Lyons might have to play their way through another tough, low-scoring game. Neither Lyon County nor Adair County had much luck getting the ball to go through the basket in the opening quarter. The Lyons shot just 6 of 18 in the first quarter while the Indians shot just 3 of 13 as Lyon County took a 12-10 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Indians, who got plenty of good looks at the basket in the first quarter, but could not get the shots to fall, were saved by getting several early offensive rebounds. For Lyon County, they got a big early spark off the bench from Isaac Defew, who scored four big points on back-to-back baskets. The Lyons also forced the Indians into some big mistakes that kept Adair County from getting into the flow of its offense.
Adair County pulled even with Lyon County in the second quarter at 16-16 on a bucket by Conner Loy with 5:55 to go in the half. Loy was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. That would turn out to be the last time that the door was open for the Indians.
Lyon County went on an 11-2 run to take a 27-18 lead late in the half. Three of the baskets during the run came off of Brady Shoulders putbacks. The Travis Perry three in the final seconds gave the Lyons their first double-digit lead of the game and set up Bray Kirk’s turn in the spotlight on the Rupp Arena floor.
After the run to start the second half for Lyon County, it was simply a matter of determining the final score. Every time the Indians looked like they might try to make a run to get back in the game, the Lyons had an answer.
Adair closed to within 18 late in the third on a basket by Connor Loy, but the Lyons had an answer. A basket from Isaac Defew and a three from Jack Reddick made it a 23-point lead. When Travis Perry beat the buzzer for the second time in the game, the Lyons took a 24-point lead into the final quarter at 56-32.
One point to note, it was in the third quarter that the Lyons appeared to get their Rupp Arena shooting eye, which could be a very important thing going into their epic semifinal showdown Saturday against Great Crossing. After scoring just 30 points in the first half, the Lyons hung 26 on the scoreboard in the third quarter.
Adair County made a run early in the final quarter, getting some big plays from Carter White and Dawson Gilbert, and cut the lead to 16 points at 62-46. But, the Lyons had an answer.
Three pointer by Travis Perry, basket by Bray Kirk, and a layup from Jack Reddick and the lead was back up to 69-46.
The Indians would get to within 15 with 3:29 to go, but again the Lyons had the answer. Bray Kirk and Travis Perry combined to make six straight free throws and it was game, set, and match.
Adair County reserves would make a late run to get to the final 15-point margin.
Travis Perry finished the day with 21 points, including 4 of 9 from behind the 3-point line. He also had seven assists. Bray Kirk finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brady Shoulders, who was unstoppable in the second quarter, finished with a double-double at 18 points and 13 rebounds, 10 of the rebounds coming in the first half of play.
Adair County was led by Connor Loy and Dawson Gilbert with 14 points each. Lane Grant added 11 points.
Lyon County got the pace of play to a place they much prefer as the Lyons were able to put up 71 shots in the game, a place where the Lyons feel more comfortable than in the 45-43 game against Ashland on Wednesday.
Two big stats in the game were rebounds and turnovers. The Lyons outrebounded the Indians 42-34 and, as for turnover, the Lyons simply did not make them Friday. Lyon County finished with just four turnovers while forcing Adair County into 11 miscues.
The win moves Lyon County to 34-3 on the year and puts them in the semifinals of the state tournament for the first time in school history. It also sets up a very highly anticipated matchup with top-ranked Great Crossing.
The Warhawks are now 36-1 after their easy quarterfinal win over Magoffin County and have not lost to a Kentucky team this season.
In the preseason, most rankings had either Lyon County or Great Crossing ranked #1. The two met in the final preseason scrimmage at Martin County with the Lyons rallying from a double-digit deficit to take the win.
Tip time Saturday is at 11am Eastern. The winner will play in Saturday night’s state championship game, which will start at 7:30pm Eastern.
