It was really the only appropriate way for seniors Travis Perry, Brady Shoulders, and Jack Reddick to go out. After two straight trips to the Sweet 16 where they won a game and then lost in the quarterfinals, the Lyon County Lyons entered the 2023-2024 season with one single-minded goal, and that was cutting down the nets on Saturday night at Rupp Arena. And now, they will get that chance on the biggest basketball stage in the state.
Lyon County used one of their patented runs to take control of the game in the third quarter and then forced Great Crossing to ‘chase’ them the rest of the way as the Lyons took a 58-49 win over the Warhawks and advanced to the state championship game for the first time in school history.
The Lyons will take on Harlan County, who won Saturday’s second semifinal, knocking off Evangel Christian, in the state title game Saturday night at 7:30pm Eastern.
Leading just 28-26 early in the second half, the Lyons staggered Great Crossing they never quite recovered. After a Brady Shoulders three, it was Travis Perry three, Jack Reddick three, and Bray Kirk three. In a span of just 2:05, the game went from a tentative two-point Lyon County lead to a 12-point margin that firmly planted the Warhawks’ backs against the wall.
The top-ranked team in the state, as you would expect did not back down but would get no closer than 5 points the rest of the way, that coming inside the final minute at 54-49 with 48 seconds left.
But with their season and state title hopes on the line, the 2024 Mr. Basketball did what you would expect a player of that status to do. In a scrum for the ball, Perry somehow came away with it and was fouled, knocking down two free throws with 24 seconds left. Bray Kirk then rebounded a desperate Great Crossing shot and got the ball up to Perry, who then found Jack Reddick for a game-sealing layup and the celebration was on and plans for a Saturday night game at Rupp were underway.
In a matchup between the two teams that were ranked at the top of the preseason rankings, the Lyons came out from the very beginning and game evidence to Great Crossing that they were not intimidated by the bigger school and their big man Malachi Moreno. Lyon County battled inside with the big man all game long and took not one step back from taking the battle to the Warhawks.
Lyon County came out and knocked down three shots from behind the arc in the first 8 minutes. And, while the Lyons did not shoot well overall in the first quarter, those threes helped to counter the play of Moreno inside for Great Crossing.
Lyon County jumped out to a 10-4 lead early and had the ‘purple people’ roaring with approval. Led by Malachi Moreno, Great Crossing battled back to tie the game at 13-13 and 15-15. A free throw from Moreno with 1.5 seconds left in the quarter gave the Warhawks a 16-15 lead.
A Brady Shoulders three to start the second put Lyon up 18-16 but Vince Dawson quickly answered with a bucket to tie it up at 18-18.
Then, the Lyons came at the Warhawks with the first of their two important runs for the day. Led by Travis Perry, Lyon County outscored Great Crossing 10-2 to take a 28-20 lead with 3:31 to go in the half.
Lyon County would not score again in the half and that gave Great Crossing a chance to get back in the game. A basket by Moreno and free throws by Dawson made it 28-24 at the half.
After the Lyons used their third-quarter run to grab control of the game, they decided to spread the court and make the Warhawks chase the ball in an effort to come back. And that meant, putting the ball in Travis Perry’s hands, a bunch, over the final quarter and a half.
The third quarter ended with Lyon County leading 44-36 and the game now rolled into the longest 8 minutes of the season for the Lyon County fans who were just waiting to celebrate.
With Great Crossing urgently trying to find a way to get the ball to Moreno late in the third quarter and through the fourth, the Lyons’ defense was just having none of it Big plays from Isaac Defew, Brady Shoulders, Bray Kirk, Jack Reddick, and Travis Perry on the defensive end kept Moreno from becoming a factor when the Warhawks desperately needed him to take over the game.
With Lyon taking the lead into the fourth, the Lyons spread the court and looked only for guaranteed makes or trips to the free throw line. Despite some tough misses at the line and a couple of ball handling issues, there would be no denying the Lyons a chance to do what their goal had been since last March, and as the final seconds counted down, the crowd roared, the bench danced, and I think I heard some kind of noise coming from well to the west of Lexington.
The Lyons were led into the finals by Travis Perry, who finished with 24 points, including 4 made three-pointers. Brady Shoulders added 13 points and joined the 2,000-point club for Lyon County in the process. Jack Reddick added 11 points and 6 huge, and I do mean huge, rebounds.
Gage Richardson topped the column for the Warhawks with 16 points, including 4 made 3-pointers. Malachi Moreno finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds, but it never felt like he took over any stretch of the game for Great Crossing.
Great Crossing won the battle of the boards 29-24, but the Lyons turned the ball over four fewer times and made four more three-pointers.
Lyon County improves to 35-3 on the year.
The Lyons and Harlan County met last season in the King of the Bluegrass with Lyon County taking a 76-73 win.
