The Lyon County Lyons will get the chance to do something they just missed out on last season, that being to win an All A Classic state championship. The Lyons picked up their third straight 2nd Region All A Classic championship, and 5th in the last six years, by upending University Heights Academy 85-68 Saturday night at Fort Campbell.
The win advances the Lyons on to the boys All A Classic state tournament at the Owensboro Sportscenter beginning January 22.
The Blazers got the first points of the game on a three-pointer from Keshawn Moore. However most of the rest of the quarter belonged to the Lyons as the trio of Carson Collins, Bray Kirk, and Isaac Defew got Lyon County to a 22-13 lead.
It looked like the Blazers might grab the momentum late in the quarter when Kayn Simmons scored on a runout to make it 22-15. Lyon County’s Nolan Coffman dashed those hopes when he knocked down a baseline jumper just ahead of the horn to put the Lyons up 24-15 after one.
A free throw from Isaac Defew gave the Lyons a double digit lead for the first time at 25-15 with 7:46 to go in the half.
Lyon County’s ¾-court press, began to give the Blazers some issues in the second quarter. UHA spent a lot of energy just working the ball up to try and get in the flow of the offense. The Lyons then staggered the Blazers with a 9-0 run that was made up of a three, a jumper, a runout, and a steal off the press that ended up in a layup. Suddenly, the Blazers found themselves down 34-17 with still 6:10 to go in the half. Lyon County again would grasp the end-of-quarter momentum when Carson Collins knocked down a three just ahead of the horn. It was his fourth 3-pointer of the first two quarters.
But give the Blazers credit, they did not pack it in at the half being down 20. The second half began with a steal and layup, another steal and layup, and then a 3-pointer from Tabor Vincent, and just like that it was a 52-39 game and that ended up with a timeout from Lyon County coach Ryan Perry.
Lyon County came out of the timeout with the kind of response a coach wants out of his team in this kind of situation. The Lyons quickly ran the lead back out to 18 points, getting a big effort from Nolan Coffman, who capped off the run with a three from the right corner.
The third quarter ended with the Lyons holding a 66-50 lead.
But the Blazers were still not quite done. A Kewshawn Moore three-pointer, followed by a Nash McAfee three got UHA to within 10 just 27 seconds into the final quarter.
A McAfee floater in the lane later in the quarter pulled UHA to within 9 points at 72-63. But the Lyons did what champions do at that point, respond by delivering a final blow to the Blazers’ hopes of pulling off a title comeback.
Bray Kirk and Nolan Coffman sparked a 13-2 run to extend the lead back out to 20 points at 85-65. A late UHA three got the game to the final 17-point margin.
Bray Kirk had a big night to lead Lyon County with 28 points. Nolan Coffman added 23 points. Carson Collins finished with 14 points, including four first half three pointers to get the Lyons up and running. Isaac Defew also hit double figures with 13.
The Blazers were led by Keshawn Moore with 30 points. Hayden Hunt ended the night with 10 points. Tabor Vincent and Kayn Simmons added 9 points each.
Lyon County (10-5) has now won four straight games and advances to the All A state tournament where they will take on the 1st Region champions in the 9:30pm game on Thursday, January 22. The 1st Region champ will not be determined until next Saturday.
UHA (5-6) is set to host Hopkins County Central Monday night in Blazer Gym.
