The Hopkinsville Tigers had a ‘devil’ of a time in their first game of 2025 Friday afternoon. A Red Devil of a time more specifically. Owensboro used its 1-2 combination of guard Michael Acton and big man Keaton Hughes to break open a close game late in the first half on their way to an 87-74 win over the Tigers.
The first quarter was an up-tempo offensive battle that went back and forth for the whole quarter. There were four ties and six lead changes over the first eight minutes. The Red Devils ended up being the last team to score in the quarter, taking a 25-23 lead after one.
James Bradley Jr. had a big start for the Tigers, while on the other end, the Tigers could not find a way to slow down Owensboro big man Keaton Hughes.
Hopkinsville opened the second quarter with five quick points to take a 28-25 lead and appeared to be getting the momentum to start moving in the Tigers’ direction. However, led by their defensive pressure and the play of Michael Action, Owensboro responded with a 9-0 run to go up 34-28.
The Tigers would get within three, but then the Red Devils, getting a strong finish to the quarter from Hughes, ran off 8 straight points to close out the half to give Owensboro a 48-36 lead at the break.
The Red Devils did a much better job in the second containing Hopkinsville’s James Bradley Jr. Bradley, who had 10 first quarter points, did not score in the second quarter. Freshman Jonovan Leavell helped the Tigers stay within sight in the first half, coming up with 12 points.
The inside-outside combination of Acton and Hughes combined for 32 points in the first half for Owensboro with Hughes having 19 and Acton adding 13.
Hughes, a 6-7 senior, and Acton, a sophomore, came out of the locker room and picked up right where they left off as the third quarter got started. The two scored 7 points each in the quarter as the Red Devils pushed the lead out to 22 points as the third ended at 72-50.
Hughes picked up his 4th foul early in the final quarter with the Red Devils up 72-52 and the Tigers quickly took advantage. Hopkinsville started attacking the basket with the Owensboro big man off the floor and got to within 10 points at 76-66 with 3:09 left.
The Tigers closed to within 8 points on a James Bradley Jr. runner in the lane with just under 2 minutes in the game. A pair of free throws from Keylin Payton pushed the lead back out to ten at 82-72 and then the Tigers turned the ball back over with 1:43 left in the game.
That would be the end of the comeback threat for Hopkinsville as the Red Devils knocked down the free throws they needed to secure the win.
Hopkinsville was led by James Bradley Jr., who finished with 25 points. Jonathan Hart added 15. Jonovan Leavell scored 14, while Deavery Ramey also hit double figures with 11.
A huge game for Owensboro’s Keaton Hughes with 32 points. Michael Action finished with 22.
With the loss, Hopkinsville falls to 3-9. The Tigers will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1pm when they take on Fort Campbell in an 8th District matchup in Tiger Gym.
