Hopkinsville’s Don Victor hit the ground running with 13 first-quarter points on Friday night at Tiger Gym, helping the Tigers to an early advantage on the way to a 64-51 victory over Muhlenberg County. The win comes after nine days off for the Tigers after a lopsided loss to Warren Central, and puts and end to an eight-game winning streak for the Mustangs.
After scoring the first 5 points of the game for the Tigers, Victor connected on back-to-back 3-pointers with 1:20 left to give Hoptown a 6-point edge, and they led 15-12 after the first quarter.
Both teams scored in single digits in the second, with Alijah Watts restoring the Tigers’ 6-point edge with a 3-pointer to open the quarter. After spraining his ankle in his first game back for the Tigers on the road at Warren Central, Watts went the distance in his home debut, finishing with 12 points.
Reece Jesse scored in the lane to stretch the margin to 9 with 4:31 left in the half, but those would be the last points for the Tigers before the break. The Mustangs only scored 4 points the rest of the way, and Hoptown led 24-19 at halftime.
The Tigers opened up their first double-digit lead after a Javon Smith-Rudd 3-pointer just :30 into the third, but despite 6 points from Victor, the Mustangs were back within 3 after a 3-pointer by Cole Vincent. Brayden Lovan came up with a steal and layup with 1:50 left in the third to trim the Tiger lead to 37-36, but Arthur McKnight converted a 3-point play and knocked down two free throws to give the Tigers a 5-point cushion heading the the fourth.
With 5:10 to play, Smith-Rudd went coast to coast for a layup and a 52-42 Tiger advantage. Muhlenberg’s Lovan hit one of two free throws to get the Mustangs within 8 with just under two minutes left, but the Tigers answered with the final 5 points to seal the win.
Muhlenberg 12 7 17 15 — 51
Hopkinsville 15 9 18 22 — 64
Muhlenberg (16-11) — Vincent 14, Lovan 11, Rose 8
Hopkinsville (11-15) — Victor 29, Watts 12, McKnight 7
