After a tough pre-Christmas trip to Fairdale for the King of the Bluegrass, the Lyon County Lyons were looking for a better start to their appearance in the White, Greer & Maggard Holliday Classic Saturday at Lexington Catholic, a tournament the Lyons won in 2023. The Lyons got their wish as they never trailed in a 66-47 win over Collins in an opening round game of the tournament.
Lyon County scored first and did not trail in the first quarter, leading by as many as five points. The Lyons got a late three-pointer in the quarter to break a 10-10 tie and take a 13-10 lead after the first eight minutes of the game. The Lyons got big starts from Nolan Coffman and Isaac Defew as they took the early lead.
The Lyons’ defensive pressure began to cause serious issues for the Titans in the second quarter, forcing turnovers, which in turn led to scoring opportunities for Lyon County, which would lead by as many as 13 points late in the quarter. A jumper just ahead of the horn sent the Lyons into the break holding a 12-point lead at 35-23.
Rebounds and turnovers were a big story of the half. The Lyons outrebounded Collins by 8 and forced the Titans into six more turnovers.
The Lyons kept their momentum coming out of the break to start the second half. Lyon County moved the lead out to as many as 16 points, and that would be the margin when the quarter ended with the Lyons up 53-37.
Lyon County settled the matter in the early moments of the fourth quarter, scoring the first five points of the quarter and running the lead out to 21 points at 58-37.
Collins made a quick run at the Lyons to get as close as 15 points, but there would be no miracle comeback for the Titans on this Saturday night as the Lyons pushed the lead back out to 21 points with just over a minute to go in the game.
Lyon County got a big game from Nolan Coffman, who finished the night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Isaac Defew also had a standout night for the Lyons, adding 19 points and 16 rebounds. Bray Kirk also hit double digits with 14 points and had 4 assists.
Jonathan Stover was the only player to reach double figures for Collins, ending the game with 13 points. Grant Roadcamp added 9 points.
Lyon County (6-3) will advance on in the winner’s bracket to take on the host Lexington Catholic Knights on Sunday.
