Henderson Ends Lyons’ Reign in OT Thriller in Region Semis

One thing is certain when the Boys Sweet 16 starts in a couple of weeks at Rupp Arena. And that is that there will be a new state champion at the end of the week. Henderson County scored the final 8 points of the game to force overtime and then the first four points of the extra period on their way to knocking off the defending state champion Lyon County Lyons 59-55 in an epic regional battle in front of a packed and loud crowd at Madisonville-North Hopkins.

The Lyons seemingly had things going their way with an 8-point lead in the fourth quarter but some tough decisions on offense allowed the Colonels to get their way back into the game.

The teams came out ready to roll from the opening tip. Cooper Davenport took the opening tip and missed a runner from the left side. The Lyons took the rebound and ran down court, getting a basket from Nolan Coffman to take a 2-0 lead, and things were off and running.

The first quarter was a battle between arguably the two teams that have been the best in the region all season long. There were four ties and five lead changes in the first eight minutes. Henderson County took a 19-17 lead when Xavion Johnson hit a floater along the right baseline just ahead of the horn.

Henderson shot 8 of 13 in the first quarter. The Lyons were not far behind at 8 of 15, a far cry from the 21 percent Lyon County shot in their loss at Henderson County earlier in the season.

Another note to the first quarter was that all five starters scored for both teams. Nolan Coffman, Isaac Defew, and Carson Collins had four points each for the Lyons, while Dwaine Moss scored 7 for the Colonels.

The second quarter was more of the same for both teams. Henderson got a spark from Amare Stewart, who knocked down a pair of threes to give Henderson County a 25-21 lead. Bray Kirk then stepped up for the Lyons as he scored their first 8 points of the second quarter and brought the Lyons even at 25-25 with just over four minutes to go in the half.

The two defenses were in lockdown mode for much of the half, not allowing the other offense to get many chances to get a clear look at the basket.

With the game even at 27-27 inside the final minute of the half, Henderson County went for the last shot, however the Lyon County defense came up with the big play and the two teams went into the break tied for the seventh time of the half.

For the half, Lyon County was 11 of 23, almost identical to Henderson County’s 11 of 24. Henderson County made three more shots from deep, while the Lyons made three more shots at the line.

Lyon County controlled the glass in the first 16 minutes, outrebounding Henderson County 19 to 8.

Bray Kirk had a big half for the Lyons with 10 points, 8 of them in the second quarter. Nolan Coffman added 6 points and 13 rebounds, 5 of those on the offensive glass.

Henderson was led by Dwaine Moss with 7 points, all of those in the first quarter. Amare Stewart came off the bench to hit two threes for his six points.

The second half started and it was a continuous back and forth slugfest. There were five lead changes in the first 3 ½ minutes of the quarter as the teams traded buckets. Lyon County got the first breath of a margin on a basket from Nolan Coffman and then a steal and a layup from Carson Collins that made it 37-34 with 4:31 to go in the third.

That did not last long as Cooper Davenport came out of time out and drained a three, and then Lacon McKinney scored to put the Colonels up 39-37. Lyon County came right back and got a three from Bray Kirk for the 12th lead change of the game to put the Lyons up 40-39. Isaac Defew followed that up with a bank shot in the lane, and Lyon County led 42-39 with 2:33 to go in the third. Lyon’s defense continued to cause the Colonels problems with getting to the basket, and when Isaac Defew drained a free throw line jumper for his 7th and 8th points of the quarter, Lyon County had its biggest lead of the night at 46-40 with 59 seconds left in the third.

An Elijah Suggs basket trimmed the Lyon County lead to 46-42 heading into the final quarter.

Over the first three minutes of the final quarter, Henderson County got a Cooper Davenport three while the Lyons got three free throws from Nolan Coffman as the margin stayed at four points at 49–45 with 5:10 to go.

Out of a timeout, Lyon County got a layup from Carson Collins, and then Collins got a putback off a missed shot from his brother Cooper, and the Lyons led 53-45. Xavion Johnson drove to score at the other end, and it was 53-47 Lyon County with 3:43 left in the game.

Lyon County, attempting to slow down the pace, rushed a couple of shots, and it cost them dearly. A three-pointer from Amare Stewart and a three from Cooper Davenport tied the game at 53-53 with 1:32 left. That basket capped off an 8-0 run for the Colonels to get back in the game.

Another rushed shot gave Henderson County the ball inside the final minute with the game still knotted up at 53-53.

Henderson County played it down to the last shot, but Amare Stewart’s three was off the mark, and then Nolan Coffman blocked the second-chance shot from Lacon McKinney to send it to overtime.

Henderson County got the tip to start the overtime and put the ball on ice for the first 2:15 of overtime. Xavion Johnson was fouled going to the basket and made 1 of 2 to put Henderson up 54-53. Amare Stewart then drained a three from the right side with 55 seconds left to make it 57-53.

Isaac Defew was fouled in the lane with 39.7 seconds left and made both free throws to cut it to 57-55 and to end a 12-point run for Henderson County.

Lyon County then fouled Xavion Johnson with 18.1 seconds left on the clock. Johnson went to the line and made one of two. Lyon County got two three-point attempts from Carson Collins and Bray Kirk, but neither would fall. Amare Stewart made one of two at the line with .7 seconds left to seal the Henderson win.

Henderson County was led by Cooper Davenport, who finished the night with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Amare Stewart came off the bench to add 13 points, with four big 3-pointers. Lacon McKinney had 9 points, while Xavion Johnson scored 8.

The Lyons had four players in double figures, led by Isaac Defew with 14 points. Bray Kirk added 13. Carson Collins chipped in with 12, and Nolan Coffman had 11 but did not get a field goal after halftime. He finished with 17 rebounds.

The story of the game was Henderson’s three-point shooting. The Colonels finished 10 of 21 from behind the arc.

Lyon County sees the season end with a record of 25-8 with a 5th District championship, an All A Regional championship, and a runner-up finish at the All A Classic state tournament.

Henderson County improves to 24-6 and moves on to the 2nd Region final for the second year in a row. They will take on Madisonville-North Hopkins for the chance to go to Rupp Arena next Tuesday night at Madisonville.