After an emotional victory over crosstown rivals Christian County in the final regular-season meeting between the programs in their last outing, the Hopkinsville Tigers suffered a letdown on Tuesday in a surprise 59-56 loss at Paducah Tilghman.
The Blue Tornado limped into the contest on the back of a six-game losing streak, but were on top 17-9 after the first quarter behind 11 points combined from Warren Carruthers and Alijah Dabney.
Jayon Bass had six in the second for the Tigers and Jayven Battle added four, but Avery Thompson knocked down a pair of three-pointers on the way to 10 points and Carruthers added seven more for a 36-26 Paducah Tilghman lead at the break.
The teams battled to a stalemate in the third, splitting 24 points evenly. Layton Giltner led the way for the Tigers with eight points and the Blue Tornado countered with six from Jemarion Purdiman.
Curtis Dillard scored all eight of his points in the fourth and James Bradley, Jr. added six to try to lead a Hoptown comeback. However, Dabney posted seven points to help the Blue Tornado hold on for a narrow three-point victory.
Bradley, Jr. led the Tigers with 15 points, Bass finished with 11, and Giltner had 10. Hopkinsville slipped to 14-10 with a matchup with visiting Ohio County coming up on Thursday.
Carruthers led all scorers with 18 for the Blue Tornado, Dabney finished with 15, and Purdiman and Thompson each had 10.
Hopkinsville 9 17 12 18 — 56
Paducah Tilghman 17 19 12 11 — 59
Hopkinsville (14-10) — Bradley, Jr. 15, Bass 11, Giltner 10, Dillard 8, Battle 7, Leavell 7
Paducah Tilghman (5-13) — Carruthers 18, Dabney 15, Purdiman 10, Thompson 10, Forthman 6, Arthur 2
