While they almost battled all the way back, an early hole proved too much for the Hopkinsville Tigers Monday night. After falling behind by 17 early the game, the Tigers would get within two points, only to see Greenwood pull back away for a 61-48 win in Bowling Green.
The first half of the game saw the Hopkinsville Tigers spend much of their time pushing up the hill, trying to battle back from a big early deficit. As the Tigers struggled to get going out of the gate, the Gators came out chomping. Greenwood scored the first 11 points of the game to go up 11-0. That lead would grow to as many as 17 points in the opening quarter, before the Tigers cut the lead to 21-7 by the end of the quarter.
The Tigers continued their rally early in the 2nd quarter. Hopkinsville would get as close as seven points at 23-16. Greenwood pushed the lead back out to 15 points at 31-16. The Tigers would then make one more push before the end of the half, scoring the final nine points of the 2nd quarter to cut the lead to 31-25 at the break.
Greenwood made good using of the three point shot in the opening half, connecting five times from behind the arc. Hopkinsville would knock down two threes over the first two quarters.
Coming out of the locker room, the Hoptown rally continued. The Tigers would score the first four points of the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to two at 31-29. However, that would be as close as the Tigers could get to the lead in the quarter. Greenwood was able to battle back and get a little breathing room, extending the lead to 46-39 after the third.
It may have been that the effort to rally from the big early deficit took a toll on the Tigers coming down the stretch. The Gators opened the final quarter continuing to extent the lead which they had begun to rebuild in the late part of the third quarter. The lead would grow to as many as 15 points in the final minutes of the game before the Gators settled in for the 13 point win.
Hopkinsville was missing Don Victor in the contest. Victor was held out of the game due to injury. The Tigers were paced by Daisjaun Mercer with 13 points. K.C. Cabiness was the other Tiger to reach double figures with 12 points. Jamarcus Burks added 9, while Reece Jesse chipped in with six. Authur McKnight finished with 5 points for the Tigers.
The Gators were led by Cade Stinnett with 19. Noah Stansbury, son of WKU head coach Rick Stansbury, added 14. Parker Williams was the other Gator to reach double figures with 10.
The loss, which was Hoptown’s fourth straight, drops the Tigers to 7-10 on the season.
