Coming off a tough triple-overtime loss at Grayson County on Monday, the Daviess County Panthers were looking for a little momentum to wrap up the week and the regular season ahead of a massive district tournament showdown with the Owensboro Red Devils Tuesday night.
The Christian County Colonels had picked up an overtime win on the road Friday night at Webster County and were looking to build on that momentum heading into a district tourney battle with University Heights Academy.
The Panthers got what they were looking for Saturday afternoon at Lyle Dunbar Gym. Daviess County scored the first 8 points of the game and hit the Colonels with a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to build a big first half lead on the way to a 73-55 win.
After their run to start the game, Daviess County would lead 24-8 after the first quarter. The Panthers got big quarters from Jaxon Brown and Jonathan Moss, who scored 7 points each in the first eight minutes of the game.
The Panther defense limited the Colonels to just three made field goals in the quarter.
After a Kam Williams basket to open the second quarter for Christian County, Daviess County went on a 10-0 spurt to run the lead out to 34-10.
Christian County was able to get a little momentum going into the half, outscoring the Panthers 7 to 1 over the rest of the half. NaDarien Rowe’s 25-foot shot just ahead of the horn made it 35-17 at the break.
The momentum for the Colonels carried over into the beginning of the second half. Christian County came out and cut the lead to 41-28 on a basket by Rahsean Stevenson with 4:07 to go in the third, prompting a timeout from Daviess County coach Neil Hayden.
Out of the timeout, the Panthers got a three-pointer from big man DeAaron Watkins making it 44-28 and slowing down the Christian County forward momentum for the time being. From there, Daviess County finished out the third by outscoring the Colonels 12-9 to nudge the lead back out to 56-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
Christian County would get to within 16 points at 58-42 early in the fourth, but that was as close as the Colonels could get coming down the stretch as the Panthers pulled away to lock up the win.
Three Colonels reached double figures for the afternoon, led by NaDarien Rowe with 17 points, including three made 3-pointers. Kam Williams and Zyon Wharton added 12 points each for Christian County.
Jonathan Moss led four Daviess County players in double figures with 22 points. Jaxon Brown added 20. De’Aaron Watkins ended up with 14 points, while Joseph Varble chipped in 10.
Christian County finishes the regular season at 6-22. The Colonels now get ready for a huge 8th District semifinal game on Tuesday night. The Colonels will square off against University Heights in the second semifinal at 7:00 at Hopkinsville High School. The Blazers won the only meeting between the two teams this season back on February 7 by a final score of 68-56.
