The Dawson Springs Panthers will have to wait a little longer to get their first win over the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons in nearly 28 years. Playing without their leading scorer Montgomery Johnston, the Panthers fell behind early and never could quite recover as they fell to the Maroons 79-56 Tuesday night in Madisonville.
The win extends a lengthy winning streak for Madisonville-North Hopkins. The last win for the Panthers in the series came back in the 1997 7th District championship game.
With Montgomery Johnston in street clothes and Jaydon Plunkette not in the lineup, the Panthers had to rely on Rex Blue and company to try and pull off the upset.
Blue scored the first four points of the game to put Dawson ahead 4-0. However, Madisonville responded with a 15-0 run to take early control of the game at 15-4. Kanyon Johnson and Landen Smith helped to ignite the Maroon offense.
The first quarter ended with the Maroons up 22-11. Blue had all 11 points in the opening quarter for Dawson Springs.
Give the Panthers a bunch of credit. Dawson hung even with the Maroons for much of the second quarter. Blue started to get some help from Easton Bourland, Noah Riley, and Preston Drennan.
Madisonville led by as many as 15 early in the second quarter but the Panthers did not back down and trimmed the lead to 35-24 at the break.
Rex Blue had 17 points in the half for the Panthers, while the Maroons were getting a more balanced effort with seven players finding the scoring column in the half.
With Blue continuing his strong play, Dawson Springs trimmed the lead to seven at 39-32 early in the third. Then, the Maroons finally got themselves a little breathing room.
Landen Smith and Kanyon Johnson ignited a 9-0 run that pushed the lead out to 48-32 and the Panthers would get no closer than 14 points for the rest of the night. The third quarter ended with Madisonville up 63-42. Rex Blue, for Dawson Springs, and Landen Smith, for Madisonille, each had 10 points in the third quarter.
Madisonville reserves entered the game early in the fourth quarter as the Maroons finished out the – point win.
Landen Smith’s 21 points led the Madisonville effort for the night. Kanyon Johnson added 12 points and a pair of thunderous dunks. Ryan Bryant also hit double digits with 10.
Rex Blue led all scorers in the game, finishing with 32 points for the Panthers. Easton Bourland also reached double figures with 10.
Madisonville improves to 8-5 with the win. The Maroons will get back to work Thursday night when they host the Taylor County Cardinals.
Dawson Springs drops to 8-8. The Panthers go north of the river Friday to take on Evansville Christian.
