The Hopkinsville boys’ basketball team came into Saturday night’s match-up with Russellville having dropped two straight, but picked up a much needed 74-62 win in their second and final game of the Toyota of Hopkinsville Classic. The Tigers now stand at 3-3 on the year, while Russellville have lost four straight to fall to 2-4.
The back-and-forth first quarter was played at an extremely fast pace, with the Tigers taking a 16-12 lead after a dunk by junior Jacarius Burks. In the second quarter, Hopkinsville quickly stretched the lead to 20-12 with Russellville taking a timeout with 6:40 left until the half. The Tigers defensive pressure was taking a toll on the Panthers, and after a layup by freshman Alijah Watts they took a 28-16 lead. Watts has found his minutes increase as the Tigers play short-handed, and he’s performed very well. Senior shooting guard Bryce Smith drained a three pointer for the Tigers with under a minute until halftime to stretch the lead to 15, but Russellville scored 4 straight to cut the lead to 38-27 at the break.
Russellville began to force the Tigers into turnovers in the third quarter, and they whittled the lead down to 43-38 with 3:50 left. However, the Tigers then went on a 12-0 run fueled by back-to-back three pointers from Bryce Smith, giving them a 55-38 lead with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, junior shooting guard James Nicholas went down with an injury and didn’t return, but the Tigers were able to maintain a fairly comfortable lead throughout the final frame, with the Panthers never getting closer than 7. Burks, the National Guard Player of the Game, sandwiched a Russellville basket with two dunks for the final 12 point margin at 74-62.
Burks was high-point man for the Tigers with 23, including 13 in the first half and 10 in the final quarter. Smith followed with 13, and junior center Jamarion Sharp had 11. Nicholas and Watts both scored 8, and sophomore shooting guard Don Victor added 6. Seniors Andrew King and Elijah Rawlins both had a bucket, and junior point guard DeEvan Williams added a point. The Tigers were once again without the services of senior point guards Jalen Johnson and Stephen Cager, as well as junior small forward Tefrell Toliver.
On December 21 the Tigers will compete in the Paducah Tilghman Christmas Tournament, scheduled to play Valley (4-2), Mayfield (4-1), and a team TBA.
