Lyon County led wire-to-wire in an early-season matchup of top contenders in the 2nd Region — but there were still some anxious moments.
Down 13 in the first half, Hopkinsville rallied to within 31-30 at halftime Thursday night at Jason White Gymnasium in Eddyville.
Down 17 in the second half, the visiting Tigers crept as close as 66-61 with still more than 2 minutes to play.
However, in the end, the Lyons held on for a 10-point triumph, 76-66, to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Bray Kirk had three 3-pointers as part of his game-high 24-point performance as Lyon beat Hoptown for the fifth straight time.
The Lyons also got 17 points from Isaac Defew and 16 from Nolan Coffman. Carson Collins scored nine points and Cooper Collins had eight.
The Lyons made all six of their free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to hold off the Tiger comeback bid.
Jonovan Leavell led Hopkinsville with 19 points. James Bradley added 13 while Layton Giltner and Jayon Bass each had 10 points.
Lyon blistered the nets early while runing out to 23-10 advantage. Coffman and Cooper Collins each had a pair of shots from behind the arc in the opening stanza.
But Curtis Dillard hit a 3 just ahead of the horn for Hoptown to make it 23-13. The Tigers then picked up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, outscoring Lyon 17-8 in the frame to trail just 31-30 at halftime.
However, the second half started much like the first as Lyon rebuilt its lead.
Kirk had three treys while Carson Collins and Defew each had a 3 as the Lyons built their biggest lead of the night at 62-45.
Hopkinsville (4-3) made its run in the fourth quarter, but just had too much ground to make up.
Lyon is headed to Louisville on Friday for the 2025 King of the Bluegrass, facing North Laurel at 9 p.m. Eastern time at Fairdale. The tournament runs through Monday.
Hopkinsville will play again Saturday afternoon when it takes on Henry County in the 2025 Boys Gateway Holiday Classic at Montgomery County.
Hopkinsville 13 17 13 23 — 66
Lyon County 23 8 25 20 — 76
Hopkinsville (4-3)—Leavell 19, Bradley 13, Giltner 10, Bass 10, Dillard 8, Quarles 6.
Lyon County (5-1)—Kirk 24, Defew 17, Coffman 16, Ca. Collins 9, Co. Collins 8, Reddick 2.
