With 17 seconds left and his team trailing Evangel Christian by one point, Madisonville-North Hopkins coach Caleb Nelson ended the huddle by imploring his team to “go win it.”
His Maroons obliged.
Kanyon Johnson found Landen Smith in the paint for the game-winning bucket and a 39-38 victory over the defending 6th Region champions at the Mr Cool Marshall County HoopFest on Thursday.
The bucket capped a 17-4 fourth-quarter run for Madisonville, who trailed 36-25 with 4:35 left.
Five Maroons scored their final 14 points. Kanyon Johnson, who was scoreless entering the fourth quarter, scored six points and handed out three assists during the winning stretch.
Madisonville hit 7-of-13 shots in the final frame while Evangel missed eight of 10. The Maroons also turned up the press and scored seven points off four turnovers, essentially deciding the game.
Madisonville dictated the tempo early, leading 9-6 after one quarter and trailing 17-15 at halftime using a deliberate style. The only problem was, they weren’t hitting shots.
Davin Cheirs staked the Maroons to a quick 3-0 on a trey from the corner, but they would miss their next 13 shots from behind the arc.
Evangel outscored the Maroons 17-7 in the third quarter thanks to the inside play of 6-8 senior Ben Mukadi, who grabbed seven rebounds in the quarter and finished the game with 15 points and 17 rebounds, altering several inside shots hoisted by Madisonville.
When Madisonville turned up the press in the final quarter, the Evangel lead shrank due to a 13-2 Madisonville run in the first six minutes.
After Ryan Bryant gave Madisonville its first lead of the second half with a bucket with 2:07 left, Mukadi quickly answered at the other end to put Evangel up 38-37.
After both teams missed 3-pointers, Evangel got the rebound with 39 seconds left and called a timeout. On the inbounds play, Evangel moved up the baseline which was a violation since Madisonville had not made a bucket.
Smith’s winning bucket came with six seconds left and came ahead of a final missed 3-pointer by Evangel.
Smith finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Bryant led the Maroons with 10 points, and Johnson tallied nine points and four assists.
The Maroons turned 15 turnovers into 20 points while committing just 13 themselves.
That was a key stat on a night when the Maroons hit 35% from the field with one 3-pointer.
It was Madisonville’s first win without scoring 40 or more points since a 39-36 win over Apollo in 2010.
Andreas Jimenez Conway joined Mukadi in double figures for Evangel (0-1) with 13 points.
Madisonville, who has won its first two games by two points, will return to Murray on Saturday to play Murray High at Calloway County at 11:45 am.
| Madisonville 39, Evangel Christian 38 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Evangel Christian (0-1) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ben Mukadi 7-11 1-2 15; Andreas Jimenez Conway 5-14 0-0 13; Eric Gandol 2-5 0-2 4; Rayshawn Grant 1-2 0-0 2; Tony Wheat 1-2 0-0 2; Toma Washington 1-4 0-0 2; Kamden Thompson 0-3 0-0 0; Dylan Kruse 0-0 0-0 0; Christain Norris 0-2 0-0 0; Lester Carruthers 0-0 0-0 0; Trelin Edmonson 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 17-43 1-4 38. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Madisonville (2-0) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Bryant 4-9 2-5 10; Kanyon Johnson 2-3 5-6 9; Landen Smith 4-13 0-0 8; DeVonte Wilkes 2-8 1-2 5; Davin Cheirs 1-5 0-0 3; Peyton Smith 1-3 0-0 2; JaCobi Nichols 1-1 0-0 2; Trashaun Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Orion Wunderwood 0-0 0-0 0; Totals 15-42 8-13 39. | ||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| 3-point goals-Evangel Christian 3-17 (Andreas Jimenez Conway 3-10; Rayshawn Grant 0-1; Kamden Thompson 0-3; Ben Mukadi 0-1; Christain Norris 0-1; Toma Washington 0-1), Madisonville 1-13 (Davin Cheirs 1-3; DeVonte Wilkes 0-3; Landen Smith 0-6; Peyton Smith 0-1).
Rebounds-Evangel Christian 33 (Ben Mukadi 17), Madisonville 25 (Landen Smith 8). Assists-Evangel Christian 6 (Toma Washington 3), Madisonville 7 (Kanyon Johnson 4). Total Fouls-Evangel Christian 9, Madisonville 6. |
