Lyon County 7th-grader Travis Perry poured in 28 points and senior Gabe Board made his return from injury to help the Lyons top Henry County, TN 69-54 on Saturday. The Lyons finish 1-1 in the Stewart County Christmas Classic to improve to 9-6 overall, with a 5th District meeting with Crittenden County coming up on January 4.
A day after falling behind 14-0 to start the game in a loss to East Robertson, TN, Kade Blackburn opened the game with a 3-pointer and the Lyons led 11-2 with 4:28 left in the first quarter. Will Singleton hit a 3 for the Patriots to trim the lead to 4 with 2:03 to go, but Board responded with a 3 of his own in the last 30 seconds for an 18-11 advantage.
A Perry runner to start the second frame stretched the margin to 9, but after another Singleton 3-pointer the Patriots pulled to 22-19. With 1:43 left in the half, Perry drained a 3 for the Lyons first double-digit lead at 32-22. Perry’s long 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell short, and the Lyons led by 8 at the break.
Perry connected on a 3-pointer on three-straight trips to put Lyon ahead 44-33 with 5:25 to play in the third. However, Henry County continued to use the deep ball to stay within striking distance, getting back within 6 with just under 2 minutes left in the quarter. The Lyons closed on a 7-2 run, capped by another Blackburn 3-pointer, to take a 53-42 advantage into the final quarter.
Board scored on a putback and drew a foul for a 3-point play to give Lyon County its largest lead of 14 points early in the final quarter. Singleton hit his fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the game in the span of a minute to trim the margin to 9, but a Nick Whalin bucket followed by a Blackburn corner 3 sealed the win for the Lyons. Board hit 2 free throws with just under 3 minutes to play for the Lyons’ final points, before both teams pulled their starters.
After Perry’s 28, Board also reached double figures with 17. Gabe DeFew pulled down 12 rebounds to go with his 8 points.
Singleton’s 17 led the Patriots, followed by Donte Davis with 12.
