Maroons ‘Land-En’ Region Championship Game with Win Over Union

After seeing a double-digit first half lead get away from them, the Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons did what they needed to do down the stretch. They got a monster game from Landen Smith to take a 73-69 win over the Union County Braves Tuesday night in the 2nd Region semifinals at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School and move on to the title game for the first time in four years.

Madisonville led by 11 late in the first half, only to see the Braves come battling back in the third to take a 3-point lead of their own. The Maroons would take the lead early in the fourth and then fight off the Braves for the rest of the night.

Madisonville’s Landen Smith broke the ice in the game with a long three to put the Maroons up 3-0 with 6:25 to go in the opening quarter. That would turn out to be a sign of things to come for the first eight minutes of the game for the Maroons.

Union County hit back with a quick 6-0 run to go up 6-3. Then it was Landen Smith time.

The Maroon senior scored 8 of the Maroons’ next 10 points as Madisonville closed out the opening quarter with a 10-2 run to take a 13-8 lead after the opening quarter. Smith finished the quarter with three 3-pointers and a total of 11 points.

The second quarter began with Madisonville’s Landen Smith and Union County’s Daishawn Curry trading buckets back and forth. Curry would score six to start the quarter and Smith four as the Braves trimmed the lead to 17-14 early on in the second.

With Landen Smith getting a breather, Kanyon Johnson, who did not score in the opening quarter, started to go to work attacking the rim. Johnson scored five points as the Maroons worked the lead back out to 25-19 with 3:55 to go in the half.

After a timeout, Landen Smith returned to the lineup, and he promptly drilled a three from deep in the left corner that gave the Maroons their biggest lead of the first half to that point at 28-19.

Daishawn Curry continued his big first half for the Braves and brought Union County back to 30-25. Peyton Smith knocked down his second three of the opening half to put Madisonville back out by eight at 33-25 to stem a momentum change late in the half for Union County.

Madisonville then closed out the half strong. A three-point play from Landen Smith, a lane jumper from Ryan Bryant, a block at the defensive end from Bryant, and then two free throws from Bryant made it 40-29 with 9.1 seconds left in the half.

The Braves were able to go into the break under a double-digit deficit thanks to a pair of free throws from Daishawn Curry as Madisonville-North Hopkins went into the half leading 40-31.

The Maroons played nearly a perfect half for the game. They hit 15 of 27 from the field and 6 of 13 from behind. Madisonville had 0 turnovers in the first 16 minutes. Landen Smith finished the half with 21 points. Kanyon Johnson had 7 points, all in the second quarter, and had 7 assists at the break.

Union County did not play a horrible first half. The Braves hit 13 of 25 from the field, including 3 of 6 from behind the line. The Braves only had four turnovers, but that was four more than the Maroons had at the break, and it was a big part of the difference in the opening half.

Daishawn Curry helped to keep Union County close in the half, putting up 16 points in the opening half.

After not turning the ball over once in the first half, the Maroons turned it over on their first two possessions, and the Braves converted to cut the lead to 40-35. The lead bounced around between 5 and 8 points for the next few minutes, and Madisonville led 47-40 when the third quarter reached the halfway point.

The story of the third quarter turned out to be the Braves’ defense, which tightened up and started making it much harder for the Maroons to get looks at the basket. Led by Cameron Miller and Jaidyn Wilson, the Braves closed out the third on a powerful 10-2 run and took a 50-49 lead into the final quarter.

The Braves shot 8 of 15 in the third, while the Maroons managed to his just 4 of 11, including just 1 of 6 from behind the arc.

Madisonville tied the game at 51-51 early in the fourth, setting the stage for a tense final seven minutes of the contest. Peyton Smith connected for a three that put the Maroons back up 54-53 with just under seven minutes to go. The teams traded baskets, and then Kanyon Johnson may have made the pass of the night. Standing at the top of the key, Johnson threw a dart down the lane that ended up in a dunk from Trashaun Smith as the Maroons pushed the lead out to 58-55.

After a Union County miss, the Maroons got the ball back and then took a timeout with 4:14 to go in the game, holding the 3-point lead.

Daishawn Curry tied it with a three, and then Peyton Smith put the Maroons back up by three at the other end. Union County, back on the attack, had a possession where they kept crashing the boards and then finally got a layup from Curry to make it 61-60 with 2:12 left in the game.

The Braves then made a crucial mistake, at least for this night. They lost Landen Smith on the left wing, and Smith buried his fifth three of the game and extended the Maroon lead to 64-60 with 1:34 to go. After a Madisonville timeout, the Braves turned the ball back over with 1:23 left on the clock.

Kanyon Smith found Landen Smith on a backdoor cut to make it 66-60. Daishawn Curry scored at the other end but missed the free throw on an ‘and one’ situation. The miss was the sixth at the line for the Braves in the second half. Peyton Smith was fouled after the miss and made both free throws, giving Madisonville a 68-62 lead with 50 seconds left to go in the game.

After a timeout, the Braves came down court and found Daishawn Curry open in the left corner. Curry drained the three, cutting the Maroon lead to 68-65 with 34.2 seconds left.

Ryan Bryant was fouled and made 1 of 2 to make it 69-65. At the other end, Cale Johnson was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made only one of the three free throws, trimming the lead to 69-66.

Union County fouled Landen Smith with 18.8 seconds to go. Smith made both shots to effectively end the game by giving the Maroons a 71-66 lead. Union County made it interesting when Hayden Mills hit a long three with 1.8 seconds to go, making it 71-69.

Madisonville got the ball to Peyton Smith, who was fouled with .6 seconds left in the game. Smith calmly sank both free throws as the Maroons took the four-point win.

Landen Smith was the star of the night for Madisonville-North Hopkins, lighting it up for 36 points, including five made 3-pointers and going 5 of 5 at the line. Peyton Smith added 16 points, including 10 in the final quarter. He was 4 of 4 at the line in the final 8 minutes of the game.

Kanyon Johnson was once again a force for the Maroons. Johnson finished with 11 points and 12 assists. Ryan Bryant chipped in with 7 points.

For the Braves, Daishawn Curry very nearly carried them into the regional final. Curry ended up with 28 points. Jaidyn Wilson also hit double figures with 10. Cameron Miller, who battled on the boards all game long, had 9 points and 16 rebounds.

Free throw shooting cost the Braves dearly coming down to the wire. Union County would go just 4 of 13 at the stripe in the second half.

Madisonville improves to 17-12 with the win and advances to the region championship game next Tuesday night on their home floor. The last trip to the finals came in an attendance-restricted championship game in 2021 when they lost a tough 63-61 game to University Heights. That season ended a run of three straight years for the Maroons to appear in the championship game.

Union County sees its season come to an end at 16-11.