2nd Region Week 14 Review and Tournament Semifinals Preview

 

REGIONAL TOURNAMENT AT MADISONVILLE-NORTH HOPKINS

 

FIRST ROUND SCORES

Christian County def. Webster County, 64-52

Lyon County def. Hopkins County Central, 109-75

Henderson County def. Trigg County, 50-40

Hopkinsville def. Madisonville-North Hopkins, 51-49.

 

Highlights: Travis Perry scored 32 points in defending champion Lyon County's rout of Hopkins County Central, helping the Lions make the semifinals for the second straight year and third time in four years. Perry needs 95 points to become the state's all-time scoring leader. He enters the semifinals with 4,243 career points. Leader Kelly Coleman scored 4,337 for Wayland from 1953-56. Gerard Thomas paced Henderson County with 20 points and seven rebounds against Trigg County. The Colonels' Cooper Davenport made all four of his free throws and hit a pair of 3-pointers for 10 points. Henderson County advanced to the semifinals for the second time in three years and fifth time in seven years (2023, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017). Hopkinsville is in the semifinals for the third year in a row. Christian County is in for the second time in four years and fifth time in eight years (2023, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016).

 

MONDAY SEMIFINALS

 

Christian County (19-12) vs. Lyon County (28-5), 6 pm

Henderson County (22-8) vs. Hopkinsville (14-16), 7:30 pm

 

TUESDAY FINAL

 

Christian County-Lyon County winner vs. Henderson County-Hopkinsville winner, 6 pm

 

Outlook: Regional No. 1 Lyon County has won 14 straight games and has lost just one contest against a regional opponent this season. The Lions beat No. 5 Christian County 85-72 in December with 41 points from Travis Perry and torrid team shooting: 54% FG, 50% 3FG, 87% FT. The Lyons are shooting 49% overall from the field, 38% on 3FG and 70% on FT for the season.

 

Christian County has won seven of its last nine games. The Colonels shot 61% from the field against Lyon County last time out and still lost by 13. Christian County is shooting 47% FG on the season but lag behind the Lyons in 3FG (32%) and FT (57%). The fact the Colonels couldn't beat Lyon County previously with a good shooting night doesn't bode well for their chances here on a bigger stage. Plus, the Lyons are scoring in bunches of late with two 100-point efforts the last four games and an average of 101 ppg in that span. The Lyons are averaging 90 ppg over the last 11 games. Christian County, averaging 68 ppg over its last 11, just doesn't seem to have enough firepower.

 

No. 6 Hopkinsville upset a hot No. 4 Madisonville-North Hopkins squad that had won eight of its last 10 games on its home floor. But the Tigers lost to No. 3 Henderson County by 10 on January 3. Henderson County has won 10 of its last 12 games. The Colonels beat Hopkinsville in January with free throws and balanced scoring as five players scored eight or more points led by Gerard Thomas' 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Colonels shot 22-for-28 on free throws. Hopkinsville made just 3-of-6 from the line.

 

The Tigers actually have slightly better shooting percentages than Henderson County on the season but they need to get to the line more often if they want to entertain any chance of beating Henderson County this time.

 

FINAL REGULAR SEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS (unchanged)

 

1. Lyon County

 

2. University Heights

 

3. Henderson County

 

4. Madisonville-North Hopkins

 

5. Christian County

 

6. Hopkinsville

 

7. Webster County

 

8. Hopkins County Central

 

9. Crittenden County

 

10. Trigg County

 

11. Union County

 

12. Livingston Central

 

13. Dawson Springs

 

14. Caldwell County

 

15. Fort Campbell

Some recent Travis Perry news, posted Sunday about the Lyon County standout:

Basketball Recruiting - Five juniors whose stock should rise this spring (rivals.com)

"With the Rivals150 updating here in the coming days, Rivals.com’s Travis Graf examines five prospects that should see their stock continue to rise during the upcoming grassroots season.

"Perry is one of the more gifted scorers in the history of Kentucky high school basketball, and will likely hang up his jersey as the all-time leading scorer in the state. He’s put up big numbers yet again this season, and the key for him and his ranking moving forward will be seeing how that translates to the 3SSB Circuit this spring and summer. The four-star guard can score very efficiently from the mid-range and from the outside, and can run the offense or play off the ball depending on personnel."

--Rivals/Basketball Recruiting No. 87 national prospect.