The Hopkinsville Tigers saw a double-digit, third-quarter lead evaporate in its opener Tuesday night at Tiger Gym, falling 69-58 to visiting Kenwood, TN. The Knights avenge a buzzer-beater loss to the Tigers last season, while Hoptown drops its season-opener for the second-straight season.
Making his return to the court after two seasons out with injury, Javon Smith-Rudd knocked-down two first-quarter 3-pointers and the Tigers led 11-10 after one.
Don Victor followed his own miss for his first bucket of the game to give the Tigers a 5-point advantage with 3:22 left in the half, but after 5-straight points from Kevin McIntosh, the Knights took a 25-24 lead. Daisjuan Mercer scored his only basket of the game on a putback with :5 left, giving Hopkinsville a 29-28 halftime edge.
The first half of the third quarter belonged to Victor and the Tigers, with Victor hitting a 3 followed by a lay-in by Jamarcus Burks to open up a 42-32 lead with 3:52 to play in the frame. However, the Knights closed on an 18-2 run, with James “Scooter” Williams tossing in 8 of his team-high 19.
Trailing by 6 to start the fourth quarter, the Tigers pulled to within 3 after a corner 3-pointer by Burks and again after a Victor pull-up jumper at 58-55 with 3:51 to play. But Williams responded with back-to-back steal and scores to stretch the margin to 8, part of an 11-3 run to close the game. A Victor putback with :55 to play would be the Tigers’ final points, with the final 11-point difference representing the biggest lead of the game for either team.
Victor pulled down 7 rebounds to go with his team-high 17 points, joined in double-figures by Smith-Rudd with 12. Burks finished with 9 and 5 rebounds, KC Cabiness scored 6 along with a team-high 8 rebounds, with Arthur McKnight adding 8 points. The Tigers shot 35.5% from the field and 35.7% from long range, while hitting 9 of 17 free throw attempts.
Williams and McIntosh led all scorers with 19 each, with the Knights enjoying a 26-32 night from the charity stripe.
