Hopkinsville ended a four-year region tourney drought with a 58-56 win at Lyon County Monday in a matchup featuring the top two teams in the KHSAA RPI rankings.
Alijah Watts hit two free throws in the final 51 seconds, and Reece Jesse blocked a 3-point attempt by Lyon’s Travis Perry in the final seconds to give Larry Miller his first region tourney win as Hopkinsville coach.
Several times throughout the contest Hopkinsville built a lead only to see Lyon County answer. Hoptown led 9-2 early and was up 20-15 before Travis Perry hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Lyon a 21-20 lead midway through the second quarter.
Watts scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, including a bucket ahead of the halftime horn to put the Tigers up 32-28 at intermission.
Hoptown pushed its lead to 45-36 after three quarters. Jesse had five of his 15 points in the quarter.
Up 47-38 early in the fourth quarter, Lyon County used a 9-0 run to tie the game, sparked by Jack Reddick and Jackson Shoulders who combined to score all nine points.
With the game tied at 49 with 3:43 left, Shoulders fouled out as Jesse converted a 3-point play for a 52-49 lead.
While Hoptown saw Lyon County battle back in the fourth quarter, they never lost the lead.
Down 57-56 with 12 seconds left, Lyon got two good looks at the basket off a missed free throw but couldn’t convert. Watts hit one of two free throws with 5.3 seconds left for the final margin.
Watts led Hopkinsville with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jesse added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jamarcus Burks scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
Hoptown held a 38-27 advantage on the glass, while Lyon County only had six turnovers in the game. However, the Lyons, who normally hit 70-percent of their free throws, were 10 of 18 Monday.
Perry led the Lyons with 20 points. Jackson Shoulders added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Monday’s game was the first time Lyon and Hoptown met in the region tournament since a 100-94 Lyon County win in the 1991 semifinals.
Hopkinsville will move on to play Madisonville, who beat Webster County 49-44, in Thursday’s semifinal at MNHHS.
Lyon County’s season ends with a record of 22-4.
Hopkinsville 15 17 13 13– 58
Lyon County 9 19 8 20– 56
Hopkinsville [7-4] – Watts 18, Jesse 15, Burks 13, Mercer 8, McKnight 4
Lyon County [22-4] – Perry 20, J. Shoulders 13, Bingham 8, B. Shoulders 8, Reddick 5, Gilbert 2
