Caldwell County’s first trip ever to Heritage Christian Academy very nearly resulted in a school record.
A 34-0 run helped the Tigers roll to a 63-16 victory in the season opener for both teams Thursday night in Hopkinsville.
That was just one point off the longest scoring run in school history. Exactly two years earlier, Dec. 4, 2023, Caldwell opened the game against Fulton City with 35 straight points. The Tigers went on to win 63-31 that night.
Against Heritage Christian, the game started out competitively. The Warriors led 4-2 early. HCA was still within 19-12 after one quarter following a 3-pointer by Jacob Morgan at the horn.
But Caldwell’s physical full-court pressure took its toll on the Warriors.
The Tigers outscored Heritage Christian 32-0 in the second period to take a 51-12 advantage to halftime.
Caldwell then got a layup from Pax Aikins to open the second half and extend the run to 34 points.
Aaron Hensley ended the drought for HCA when he drove the baseline and scored at the 7:45 mark of the third period. But by then, Caldwell was well on its way to an opening-night victory.
However, the night was cut short later in the third period when senior point guard Nathan Wheatcraft suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury. The game was stopped with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter. The two teams agreed to end the game early at that point.
Aikins ended the night with 29 points for the Tigers. He was the only player on either side to score in double figures.
Kese Wilson, Ari Wells and Daelyn Lander each had six points for Caldwell.
Heritage Christian got five points each from Morgan and Cadyn Travis.
Caldwell is 4-0 all-time against HCA. The Warriors made three trips to Princeton to play in the West Kentucky Hoops Classic.
The Tigers will play at home for the first time on Friday when they host Webster County as part of a girls and boys doubleheader.
Heritage Christian is scheduled to play in the Kentucky Christian Athletic Conference Tournament Saturday at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Shelbyville.
Caldwell County 19 32 12 — 63
Heritage Christian 12 0 4 — 16
Caldwell County (1-0)—Aikins 29, K. Wilson 6, Wells 6, Lander 6, Phelps 4, Taylor 4, Roach 4, Thomas 2, D. Wilson 2.
Heritage Christian Academy (0-1)—Travis 5, Morgan 5, Hensley 4, Arvin 2.
