Coming off 2nd Region battles against UHA and Christian County, you might expect that the Madisonville Maroons would be a little physically and mentally fatigued as they opened play Thurday night in the Chad Gardner Law King of the Bluegrass against the host Fairdale Bulldogs. However, the Maroons fought their way through to a 67-56 win to move on to the championship bracket quarterfinals.
The Maroons struggled with foul problems and turnovers early in the game. Ksuan Casey and JD Gilbert both picked up two quick fouls and quickly headed for the bench. However, Madisonville got big first halves from Keshawn Stone and Kenny White to pick up the offense.
The Maroons used a 10-0 run in the first to take a 14-6 lead, and would hold a 14-9 lead at the end of the first.
Fairdale got as close as three on a couple of occasions early in the second quarter, then Stone got cranked up. Stone knocked down a pair of threes and Casey got a put back to move the lead back out to 24-16.
After Fairdale hit a three to cut the lead to 26-23, the Maroons closed the half on a 9-2 run, capped off with a Kenny White basket at the buzzer, to take a 33-25 lead at the break.
Madisonville looked like it would put the Bulldogs away in the 3rd. Behind the play of White and Casey, the Maroons ran out to a 46-30 lead. Fairdale cut the lead to 48-42, but Madisonville closed out the quarter strong to lead 54-42.
The Bulldogs opened the 4th with a pair of threes and a layup to cut the lead to 54-50 with 5:15 to go. However, that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get for the rest of the game.
Keshawn Stone hit for 25 points to lead Madisonville. Kenny White and Ksuan Casey both had double-doubles. White had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots. Casey, despite early foul trouble, finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
Madisonville advances to take on Collins in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket, Friday evening at 6:00pm EST.
For those who would like to watch the action, but cannot make the trip to Louisville, all 28 games will be streamed live for a cost of $14.95. Go to NFHSNetwork.Com and search for King of the Bluegrass.
