Kade Blackburn hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go to help Lyon County rally for a 74-70 victory over Union County in basketball action Monday night in Eddyville.
The Lyons (5-2) trailed by five with less than 2 minutes to play.
But Lyon forced the ball inside to Jackson Shoulders, who scored on three different trips to help cut Union’s lead to 70-69 with 38 seconds to play.
Union (4-2) had a chance to extend its lead at the free throw line, but missed the front end of the bonus with 19 seconds to play. Shoulders rebounded and got the ball to Travis Perry, who tried to penetrate before kicking the ball back out to Blackburn.
Blackburn was a step behind the 3-point line, but buried the shot from straight away to push the Lyons in front 72-70 with 5 seconds to play.
The Braves had another chance at the line when Kale Gaither was fouled in the backcourt with 4.1 seconds left. However, Gaither missed at the stripe and Nick Whalin grabbed the rebound. Whalin was fouled, but hit two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining to put the game away for Lyon.
Perry led the Lyons with 29 points. Gunnar Bingham added 12, Shoulders had 10 and Whalin finished with nine.
Gaither had 29 points for Union. Kaleb Kanipe added 19 and Eli Wilkes had 13.
The Braves trailed by as much as nine points in the first half and went to halftime down 34-27.
But Union battled back in the third quarter to get the lead on back-to-back 3s by Gaither and Wilkes. That put the visitors up 39-36.
The teams traded the lead 10 times in the stanza before Perry’s 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer sent Lyon to the final frame with a 52-50 advantage.
Lyon led 63-58 following a Perry layup, but Union countered with a 10-0 burst, going up 68-63 on a Gaither layup with 1:59 to play. However, the Braves made just two free throws the rest of the way as Lyon finished the game with an 11-2 run.
The Lyons will be in action again on Tuesday when they visit 5th District foe Trigg County.
Union County 13 14 23 20 — 70
Lyon County 18 16 18 22 — 74
Union County (4-2) — Gaither 29, Kanipe 19, Wilkes 13, Martin 7, King 2.
Lyon County (5-2) — Perry 29, Bingham 12, Shoulders 10, Whalin 9, Blackburn 5, Hawkins 4, Gilbert 2, Cissell 2, Reddick 1.
