DeFew and Coffman Lead ‘De Way’ for Lyons Back into Region Semis

Nolan Coffman and Isaac Defew may not be Hall and Oates, but they make a pretty good duo for the Lyon County Lyons. The two combined for 48 points Thursday night as the Lyon County Lyons took the first step towards a four-peat as 2nd Region champions with an 87-69 win over the Dawson Springs Panthers in the final quarterfinal round game of this year’s regional tournament.

The win moves the Lyons into next Tuesday’s semifinal round, where they will face the Henderson County Colonels, who moved on with a win earlier Thursday night against Hopkinsville.

The Lyons opened the night very businesslike and focused in on the task at hand. Nolan Coffman scored 10 points in the first 4:12 of the game as the Lyons took an 18-7 lead. That stretch was part of a 12-0 run that saw Lyon County turn an 8-7 lead into a 20-7 game.

Dawson Springs finally stemmed the tide on a Jaydon Plunkette runout that cut the lead to 20-9. A pair of free throws from Montgomery Johnston brought it to 20-11 with 90 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Lyon County got a basket from Isaac Defew and then a layup from Bray Kirk off a Dawson turnover in the final 30 seconds to hold a 24-11 lead after one.

The Lyons’ half-court trap, which caused Dawson Springs problems in the opening quarter, continued to present the Panthers with issues in the second. A steal and dunk by Nolan Coffman with 5:56 to go in the half made it 30-15 and prompted a timeout from Dawson Springs coach Dylan Simpson.

Something Coach Simpson said during that timeout appeared to have gotten the Panthers’ attention as they came out of the break. Sparked by the play of Rex Blue and Easton Bourland, Dawson Springs outscored the Lyons 14-5 and cut the lead to 35-29, leading Coach Ryan Perry to take a timeout with 2:30 to go in the half.

Lyon County pushed the lead back out to nine points at 40-31, but the Panthers came back again. Dawson Springs scored the last five points to the half to close to within 40-36 as the teams headed off the floor.

The Lyons’ shooting eye cooled in the second quarter, and Dawson Springs was able to cut back on the ball security issues. Keeping control of the ball allowed the Panthers to start finding their offensive stride and begin their comeback.

The first half was a story of two quarters. Lyon County shot 10 of 17 in the first quarter, while the Panthers were a cool 4 of 12. In the second quarter, the tables turned. Dawson Springs hit 11 of 14, while the Lyons shot a chilly 7 of 18.

Isaac Defew had 13 for Lyon County in half, and Nolan Coffman added 12.

For Dawson Springs, Montgomery Johnston put up 13 points, and Rex Blue added 11.

From outside the arc, Dawson Springs hit four threes in the half, and Lyon County made three.

Lyon County’s cold shooting in the second quarter did not carry over into the beginning of the third. The Lyons got back to attacking the basket and getting good looks for both Nolan Coffman and Isaac Defew.

The Lyons scored the first six points of the half to get the lead out to 10 points at 46-36. But to the Panthers’ credit, they did not go down quite that easy. After a three from Easton Bourland, the Panthers were down 50-43, and then the Lyons cut loose with one of their runs.

Lyon County scored 12 unanswered to push the lead out to 62-43. But again, the Panthers just would not go away.

Dawson Springs outscored the Lyons 5 to 2 to end the quarter, capped off by a three from Rex Blue, and the game entered the final quarter with Lyon County up 64-48.

Easton Bourland opened the fourth with back-to-back threes to make it 64-54, and the Dawson Springs faithful roared their approval as their Panthers appeared poised to make one last charge at the Lyons.

Carson Collins answered with back-to-back threes for the Lyons to push the lead back out to 70-54. Those two threes turned out to be the hammer that finally drove the nails in the game for Lyon County. Dawson Springs would get no closer than 13 points the rest of the way as the Lyons pulled away for the 18-point win.

Isaac Defew led the Lyons with 25 points. Nolan Coffman was right behind that with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Bray Kirk added 19 points. Cooper Collins hit for 9 points, and Carson Collins had 8, including two huge threes in the fourth quarter when Dawson Springs was trying to make its last-ditch run back into the game.

Rex Blue finished his Dawson Springs career with a 23-point performance. Easton Bourland had 19 points before fouling out late. Montgomery Johnston added 15 points but only two in the second half.

Lyon County shot 56 percent for the night while Dawson Springs hit 47 percent, but the Panthers were just 13 of 33 in the second half.

Lyon County also won the battle of the boards, 36 to 20.

The Lyons head back to the regional semifinals for the fourth consecutive year with a record of 25-7. Lyon County has now won 9 of its last 10 games.

Dawson Springs closes out the season with a mark of 17-16, the school’s first back-to-back winning seasons since 1978-79.