The big rivals of Hopkins County Central and Madisonville-North Hopkins faced off on Friday evening in what was the first of two meetings between the two teams this year. This time around, it went to the Storm 76-60, as they took advantage of their home court.
It was very back and forth to start the first quarter, but Madisonville was able to pull away a bit and take a 15-8 lead that forced a timeout with just under three minutes left. Hopkins Central was able to cut it a little bit, but the Maroons still took a four-point lead into the second.
The two rival teams were locked in a battle in the first half, and both became toed at 30 points apiece late in the second. After some more back and forth, a big and-one layup from Channing Stone put the Storm up 36-33 going into the halftime break.
In the third, the Storm were able to build on their lead with some defensive stops and a pair of Blaze Sumner three-pointers. A big layup from Davonyae Butcher forced a Madisonville timeout, and Central took a more comfortable 59-44 lead into the final period.
The Maroons were still in striking distance, but a huge inbound alley-oop poster dunk from Devante Jagoe injected a fire into the Storm, and they began to run away with it. The energy in the arena became too much for Madisonville to deal with, and Peyton Smith had some late buckets to help secure the 76-60 victory.
The Maroons had taken the last four meetings against their rivals, and Storm head coach Chris Sullivan talked a bit about how big this win was for his team.
“Madisonville’s got a great team, and a great program. I know the history, I’ve been around 2nd Region basketball for a long time, and Coach Nelson has got a phenomenal staff, I knew they would be ready to go… It means a lot, it shows that our guys are learning and we’re growing.”
The leading scorer for Central in the game was Samari Pettus with 16. Four other players got into double-digit scooting, including Smith, who Sullivan praised for his late buckets to seal the deal.
“Peyton was just huge. He’s just a winner… He’s a huge spark, and I’m so glad that he had a really good night tonight.”
As for the Maroons, their leading scorer was Jeremiah Lewis with 13. Laker Sumner and Jeremyah Sharp each had 12, while Orion Underwood contributed 10.
Madisonville will be hoping they can get in the win column for the first time this season in their next game against Dawson Springs on Tuesday, December 16. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. at Dawson Springs High School.
The Storm will be looking for their fourth win in a row on Tuesday against Caldwell County at home. There game will begin at 7:30 p.m.
