The Lyon County Lyons are headed back to the semifinals of the All A Classic state tournament for the second consecutive year. The Lyons came out fast and then used one of their patented runs to come back from a brief second half deficit on their way to a 73-64 win over Pineville in the first quarterfinal game Friday night.
Bray Kirk had a big night for the Lyons, finishing with 28 points, rebounds, and 5 assists. Kirk also went 11 of 14 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter to help the Lyons secure the win.
Lyon County opened the night ready to roll. Isaac Defew scored the first six points of the game as part of a 9-0 Lyon County run. The Mountain Lions seemed to have no answer early on for the Lyon County big man.
The Lyons would lead by as many as 12 points in the first quarter before Pineville closed out the first with the final five points to make it a 19-12 Lyon County lead after one.
Lyon County led by double digits on a couple of occasions in the second quarter. Led by a strong effort from Bray Kirk, the Lyons pushed the lead out to 26-15. Pineville battled back with 7 straight points and cut the lead to 26-22.
The Lyons found their footing again and extended the lead back out to 35-25. But give Pineville credit, they simply would not go away. Sawyer Thompson, the Mountain Lions leading scorer on the season, sparked a rally to close out the half that saw Pineville close to within 35-30 at the break.
Pineville’s outside shooting kept the Mountain Lions in the game in the first half as they knocked down 5 of 11 from behind the arc to counter a first quarter where they shot just 21 percent from the field.
The Mountain Lions scored 5 quick points to open the second half and tie the game at 35-35. With the game even at 42, Pineville took the lead for the first time on a free throw with 2:12 to go in the third at 43-42. The Mountain Lions appeared to have Lyon County staggered as the lead grew to 46-42 and the Lyons were having ball handling issues against the Pikeville pressure defense.
But then came the 60 seconds of the night. One of those runs that has left so many teams in the wake over the past few seasons. Cooper Collins deep 3 from the right corner, 46-45. Nolan Coffman well behind the arc out front, 48-46 Lyon County. Eli Baker down in the lane, 50-46. Nolan Coffman steal and thunder jam, make it 52-46 Lyons in just over a minute of play.
The third quarter would end with Lyon County holding a 52-48 lead.
Once the Lyons were in the lead and the 4th quarter got underway, Lyon County spread the court and let Bray Kirk go to work. Kirk then either made a driving basket or ended up going to the free throw line and the Lyons were able to keep Pineville at arm’s length.
The final blow for the Mountain Lions came when Sawyer Thompson fouled out with still 3:51 to go in the game. From there, Lyon County was able to knock down what they needed to at the free throw line to send Pineville back towards the mountains.
In addition to Bray Kirk’s big night, Lyon County got 15 points and 13 rebounds from Isaac Defew, his second straight double-double in the tournament. Cooper Collins added 13 points. Eli Baker finished with 5 points and 6 rebounds, but he added some huge minutes in the game with hustle plays and effort that do not show up on the stat sheet.
Ashton Moser had 22 to lead the Mountain Lions. Sawyer Thompson had 15 points before fouling out. Cam Puckett also hit double figures with 12.
Lyon County (13-4) won for the 8th straight time and moves on to the All A Classic semifinals to face hometown Owensboro Catholic. The Aces advanced with a 56-50 win over Sayre. The Aces will enter the semifinals riding an 11-game winning streak.
The Lyons and the Aces met last year in the All A Classic in Corbin with the Lyons taking a 72-54 win.
