Until the recent teams that featured Mr. Basketball Travis Perry, most people would agree the best Lyon County basketball teams took the floor in 1990 and 1991.
For Keith Matchen, Lyon County’s three-year run to Rupp Arena has been a bit of redemption for the former Lyon player and now assistant coach.
Matchen will be on the sidelines when Lyon County plays Great Crossing on Saturday morning with a chance to play for the state title.
“This was always my dream, to be here at Rep Arena, representing the Second Region, Lyon County, and the purple and gold,” he said. “These guys now, they work so hard. Travis (Perry), Brady (Shoulders), Jack (Reddick). They lead us well. It’s just a dream come true, make our town proud. I mean, this is a dream come true for us.”
Many thought Matchen and the Lyons of 1989-90 would play in either the All-A Classic State Tournament or the Sweet 16.
The Lyons won the district title in 1989, perhaps a year sooner than some predicted. The Lyons would lose to a sharp-shooting South Hopkins team in the first round of the region.
With four starters back, the Lyons were poised to have its best season in nearly two decades and had a new tournament in their sights.
The All-A Classic went statewide in 1990 and featured tournaments for the state’s smallest schools in all 16 regions with a state tournament to be played at Eastern Kentucky University.
In the first-ever All A region tournament, the Lyons lost to University Heights Academy 68-62 in overtime in the championship game. Matchen scored 20 points, but UHA, ranked No. 9 in the state, got 18 points from Sergio Luyk, who later played at St. John’s. UHA would go on to win the first-ever All A State Tourney.
Lyon County would lose only one more game the rest of the regular season and coasted to a second straight district championship.
After a close 65-62 win over Union County in the first round of the region tournament, Matchen provided the heroics in a 79-77 semifinal win over Christian County. He got loose on an out-of-bounds play with four seconds left and dunked home the game-winner, capping a 25-point night.
In the region championship, the Lyons faced Henderson County and former Lyon coach Curtis Turley. It was Lyon’s first trip to the championship in 17 years.
Lyon played the region’s largest school to two points in the fourth quarter. Matchen scored 33 points but fouled out and Henderson pulled away for the 101-82 win. Lyon’s season was over at 26-7.
“I mean, Christian County and Henderson County were really good. I mean, we had, it was battle from start to finish. I mean, everybody was pretty much equal,” Matchen said. “We went to war with them in the paint.”
Matchen averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds and was named All-State Honorable Mention. He was one of three starters back for the Lyons in 1990-91.
The Lyons entered All A region play with a 16-1 record, with its only blemish a 96-80 loss to No. 7 Paducah Tilghman.
Hopes were high that Lyon County could break through for a region title. Keith’s brother Fred and Trevor Holloway, who left the team after five games the previous season, were back and joined by Jimmy Hawkins, Brian Sutton, and Joel Crady.
However, James White scored 37 points to lead UHA to a second straight All A region title over the Lyons 94-80. Matchen scored 27 points for the Lyons, who watched the Blazers win a second straight All A Classic state title and wondered ‘what if?’
Lyon County would win a third straight district title and earn another chance at a region title. The Lyons opened with a 94-82 win over a scrappy South Hopkins squad in the region quarterfinals.
In the region semifinals, Hopkinsville got a putback at the horn to send its game with Lyon to overtime. However, Crady hit a key 3-pointer in the extra period and Matchen scored 31 points to lead the Lyons to a 100-94 win and a second straight trip to the championship.
However, Christian County proved to be too much for the Lyons and claimed the title with a 96-70 win. Matchen scored 25 points in his final game in a Lyon County uniform.
When he walked off the floor at Madisonville after the region loss, Matchen knew his best chance to appear in the Sweet 16 was over.
Fast forward 31 years and Matchen was on the bench for the Lyons as an assistant coach – his alma mater a region champion for the first time in 70 years.
He said he sees some similarities in the team he coaches compared to the ones he played for.
“The way they get after it on defense reminds me a lot of our team. We didn’t have a Travis Perry, but everything else, good defense, run and gun, they’re a really good team,” he said. “I’m proud of them. We still got a lot of work to do.”
Matchen said he still talks to some of his former teammates and Coach Chiles, who would leave Lyon County after the 1991 season and win a region title at Marshall County in 1995 and two more at Henry Clay in 2003 and 2005.
Matchen also thanks the current players for making his dream a reality.
“I told them it was a dream come true. It was my dream as a kid always to be here. And I thank them all. I said ‘Thank you for the dream I wanted. And don’t be satisfied. This is really big.’ I mean, I love it.”
