Hopkins County Central secured the No. 1 seed for the 7th District tournament Friday night.
A 10-0 run in the second half helped the Storm grab the upper hand at Caldwell County, and Hopkins Central went on to claim a 75-64 decision at the CAB gym in Princeton.
Now 11-5 overall and 5-0 in the district, the Storm will be the top seed when Hopkins Central hosts the 7th District tournament next month.
However, Caldwell (8-9, 3-2) led for much of the night against the Storm. The Tigers were still up 48-47 late in the third period.
But that’s when Hopkins Central hit its run to take the lead for good.
Down 49-48, Caldwell had the ball in the closing seconds of the third period with a chance to retake the lead. However, a turnover led to a runout at the other end by Channing Stone, who scored just ahead of the buzzer.
That gave Hopkins Central a three-point edge, 51-48, and all the momentum heading to the final frame.
The run pushed the margin to 57-48, and Caldwell could never get back into the game after that.
Davonyae Butcher scored 20 points and Samari Pettus had 19 points to lead Hopkins Central. Blaze Sumner and Channing Stone tallied 14 points apiece for the Storm.
Hopkins Central connected on 20 of 26 free throws in the contest, including 9 of 11 while holding the Tigers at bay in the fourth quarter.
Caldwell shot five free throws, making two.
The Storm hit seven 3-pointers while the Tigers made six shots from behind the arc.
Pax Aikins led all scorers with 27 points for Caldwell. Dayton Wilson added 17.
Hopkins Central holds a slim 34-31 advantage in the all-time series.
Each team has one regular-season district game remaining, but the pairings are almost set for the 7th District tourney.
No. 1 Hopkins Central will likley face Dawson Springs in one semifinal while No. 2 Caldwell takes on Madisonville-North Hopkins in the other, barring an upset in the final district games of the season.
The teams will get a preview next Friday when Hopkins Central hosts Dawson Springs and Caldwell entertains Madisonville. The Panthers could still get the No. 3 seed with a win over Hopkins Central and a Madisonville loss at Caldwell.
(Editor’s note: Story updated for potential district tournament matchups.)
Hopkins Central 15 22 15 23 — 75
Caldwell County 15 21 13 15 — 64
Hopkins County Central (11-5, 5-0)—V. Butcher 20, Pettus 19, Sumner 14, Stone 14, Bruce 8.
Caldwell County (8-9, 3-2)—Aikins 27, D. Wilson 17, K. Wilson 6, Roach 6, Mitchell 4, Wells 4.
