The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons continued their recent run against the Christian County Colonels Tuesday night. The Maroons got a big performance from Kanyon Johnson and had their defensive pressure cranked up on ‘high’ as Madisonville-North Hopkins rolled to a 76-65 win over Christian County on Don Parsons Court at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School.
The win was the 9th straight in the series for the Maroons. The last Christian County win came in the 2018 2nd Region tournament.
The first quarter saw four ties and two lead changes as the teams got the ball up and down the court. A 5-1 spurt to end the first quarter gave Madisonville an 18-14 lead after one. The Maroon defensive pressure, especially in the half-court trap gave the Colonels issues trying to get into their offense early in the game and that would continue throughout most of the night.
Kanyon Johnson was a handful for the Colonels both as the director of the Maroon offense and attacking the basket in the opening quarter.
Two quick baskets to open the second quarter gave the Maroons their first double digit lead of the night at 24-14. The Madisonville lead stayed in double figures for most of the quarter with the Maroons taking a 36-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
In addition to a big half from Johnson, the Maroons big contributions from DeVonte Wilkes and Ryan Bryant.
Kam Williams helped to keep the Colonels within shouting distance in the first half with 8 points.
The Maroons set the tone for the second half right out of the break. A Kanyon Johnson backdoor cut resulted in a thunderous slam for Madisonville and kicked off a 10-4 run that extended the lead to 46-27. Christian County made a late run in the quarter to get as close as ten points at 50-40. The quarter ended with Madisonville-North Hopkins holding a 52-40 lead.
Baskets from NaDarien Rowe and Josh Bridges got the Colonels to within seven early in the fourth. The Maroons got a right-corner three from DeVonte Wilkes to push the lead back out to 10.
Christian County got back as close as 8 points in the final half of the fourth quarter but a big steal and a big rebound from Kanyon Johnson ignited a quick spurt for the Maroons that pushed the lead back out to 14 points with 1:49 to go in the game and effectively sealed the Colonels’ fate.
The Maroons were led by Kanyon Johnson, who finished with a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Ryan Bryant added a double-double of 18 points and 12 boards, while DeVonte Wilkes connected for 11 including the big three early in the final quarter.
For Christian County, NaDarien Rowe led the way with 18 points, 16 of them in the second half. Darren Bigbee ended up with 16 and Kam Williams added 12 points.
Madisonville-North Hopkins (4-0) is back in action Thursday when they host crosstown rival Hopkins County Central.
Christian County (0-4) will be back in action Thursday night in the Toyota Holiday Classic at Hopkinsville High School taking on Paducah Tilghman.
