They had been the best team in the region all season long, and they were again Tuesday night. Madisonville-North Hopkins became the first team to repeat as Boys 2nd Region champions since Hopkinsville won four in a row from 2012-2015, as the Maroons dispatched Webster County 73-58 in front of a packed house at Hopkinsville High School.
The win marked the first regional repeat for Madisonville since they won three in a row from 1987-1989.
There was history before the game even tipped off Tuesday night in the Boys 2nd Region championship. Madisonville-North Hopkins and Webster County were meeting for the first time ever with the trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. It was also the team’s first meeting in the regional tournament since 2015, when Webster County knocked out the Maroons 54-52, on their way to a trip to the regional final.
The opening quarter had all of the makings of a classic championship game. The game was tied four times and there were three lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points in the opening eight minutes, and appropriately, the game was tied 12-12 after the opening quarter.
Kenny White had a big quarter for the Maroons with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Tyler Camplin was at his usual self, ending the quarter with seven points for the Trojans.
With the game tied at 14-14 early in the 2nd quarter, Madisonville made a move to gain control of the contest. Behind three pointers from Kenny White and Marquise Parker, the Maroons went on a 10-2 run to take a 24-16 lead, prompting a timeout from Coach Jon Newton with 2:07 to go in the half. Over the remainder of the quarter, the Maroons outscored Webster County 6-2 to take a 30-18 lead into the locker room.
Madisonville’s trio of Ksuan Casey, Kenny White, and Marquise Parker scored 29 of Madisonville’s 30 points in the opening half. White added four blocked shots on the defensive end.
After nearly losing their semifinal game to Christian County due to late game foul trouble, fouls were not anywhere close to an issue for Madisonville in the first half, as the Maroons were whistled for only two, the first not coming until 3:11 to go in the half.
Ball security was an issue for the Trojans in the half. Webster County committed six, while Madisonville only had two miscues in the first sixteen minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for the Trojans as the second half got underway. Kenny White jammed home an alley-oop dunk on the opening possession and the blocked a shot at the defensive end. Deljuan Johnson then drilled a three and just like that, with only a minute and two seconds gone in the 3rd quarter, the lead ballooned out to 35-18, resulting in a quick Webster County timeout.
After two more Deljuan Johnson 3-pointers, the lead reached 19 points at 41-22. As the quarter came to an end, Madisonville was up 50-34 and just eight minutes from their return trip to Rupp.
Webster County tried desparately to get a run going in the 4th quarter. However, the Trojans could get no closer than 13 points over the final eight minutes of the game.
The Maroons were led by Kenny White and Ksuan Casey. White finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Casey ended up with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Marquise Parker added 15 points on the night. Deljuan Johnson chipped in with 10 points, 9 of them coming on three 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Tyler Camplin had another huge night for Webster County with 27 points and 6 rebounds. Zaine Geary was the only other Trojan to reach double figures in the game with 11. Destin Allen finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Madisonville improves to 31-3 with the win and heads off to Rupp Arena for the Boys Sweet 16. The Maroons will take on Warren Central, Wednesday, March 18, in the first game of the day session. The Dragons advanced with a 53-42 win over Bowling Green in the 4th Region title game.
Madisonville did not lose to a 2nd Region team during the 2019-2020 season.
TEAM SCORING
MNHHS (31-3) 12 18 20 23 – 73
WCHS (27-6) 12 6 16 24 – 58
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
MNHHS: White 20, Casey 20, Johnson 10, Stone 3, Parker 15, Craig 1, Reynolds 2, Frazier 2
WCHS: Camplin 27, McNaughton 3, Wynn 6, Allen 9, Nelson 2, Geary 11
