Fans certainly got their money’s worth Monday night at Madisonville-North Hopkins.
The Maroons fended off Caldwell County 72-69 in a back-and-forth 7th District battle on Senior Night at Maroon Gym.
However, the contest was only the undercard in the chase for the No. 1 seed for the district tournament.
Because the second meeting between two teams is the tiebreaker in the 7th District, the main event will be Friday, Feb. 7, when the Maroons visit the CAB gym in Princeton. The winner that night will get the top seed for the tourney, which will be played at Caldwell next month.
Caldwell (12-8 overall, 4-1 district) led at the end of the first and third quarters on Monday.
Madisonville (11-7, 4-0) led at halftime and at the end of the game.
The Tigers took a 56-55 advantage to the fourth quarter. The lead changed hands three times down the stretch.
Davin Cheirs put Madisonville up 68-67 with a 3-pointer with 3:16 to play.
Caldwell went back in front 69-68 on a Jaydarius Wilson dunk.
But the Maroons took a 70-69 lead on a shot in the lane from Orion Underwood at the 2:02 mark.
Kanyon Johnson scored on a drive to the bucket with 26 seconds left in the game to give Madisonville a three-point edge.
Caldwell had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but a corner 3 from Wilson dipped in then spun out.
Madisonville missed two free throws with 3 seconds to go, but Caldwell could only get a long shot from backcourt by Wilson at the horn, and the attempt was off the mark.
Wilson had a monster game for Caldwell, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots.
Caldwell also got 13 points from Kam Wilson, and 10 points each from Pax Aikins and Cade Rowland.
Madisonville was led by Landen Smith’s 19 points. Underwood tallied 13 while Trashaun Smith and Ryan Bryant each had 11 points. Johnson and Cheirs had nine apiece.
The Maroons have won 20 straight from the Tigers going back to February of 2017. Madisonville has dominated the all-time series, 94-11.
Caldwell got off to a hot start Monday and led 26-23 after one quarter. However, Madisonville responded with a strong second period and led 44-39 at halftime.
The Tigers slipped back ahead 56-55 through three quarters. Caldwell led 60-55 with 6 minutes to play before the Maroons came back to claim the win.
Both teams will be in action again on Tuesday. The Maroons have a district date at Dawson Springs while the Tigers will go to Crittenden County.
Caldwell County 26 13 17 13 — 69
Madisonville-NH 23 21 11 17 — 72
Caldwell County (12-8, 4-1)—J. Wilson 27, K. Wilson 13, Aikins 10, Rowland 10, Lander 7, Parker 2.
Madisonville-North Hopkins (11-7, 4-0)—L. Smith 19, Underwood 13, T. Smith 11, Bryant 11, Johnson 9, Cheirs 9.
