The Henderson County Colonels saw their season come to a heartbreaking end Tuesday night, falling to the Lyon County Lyons 64-61 in double overtime in the Region 2 Tournament Championship at Madisonville-North Hopkins High School.
Lyon County led 13-11 after the first quarter and held a narrow 24-23 lead at halftime. Henderson opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run to take a 33-24 advantage, but the Lyons immediately answered with a 13-0 run of their own to retake the lead at 37-33 and carried a 39-35 edge into the fourth quarter.
Lyon, a 72% free-throw shooting team entering the game, went cold in the fourth quarter, hitting just 1 of 8 from the line. That allowed Henderson a chance to win in regulation, but Xavion Johnson’s jumper from the right elbow at the buzzer came up short.
The Lyons appeared poised to close it out in the first overtime, leading 53-49 with the ball and 49 seconds remaining. MaLaikye Taylor intercepted a long inbound pass, drove the length of the floor, and banked in a six-footer to cut the lead to 53-51. After a defensive stop, Johnson missed a contested driving jumper, but Braden Williams grabbed the rebound and scored just before the buzzer to tie the game at 53 and force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, Zeph Thomas — who had not attempted a three-pointer all season — knocked down his second triple of the game from the right corner to give Henderson a 61-60 lead with under two minutes remaining. Henderson forced a turnover on the next possession and had the ball with just over a minute left, but an errant pass gave it right back. Lyon responded with four straight points to take a 64-61 lead.
Amare Stewart had a three from the top of the key with six seconds left, but it missed. Lyon secured the rebound and tossed the ball in celebration, but it struck the rafters — ruling it out of bounds and giving Henderson one final chance with 1.1 seconds remaining. Wyatt Townsend got a 30-foot look for the tie, but it missed as Lyon held on for the win.
Johnson led Henderson with 19 points and 4 rebounds, going 11-12 from the free-throw line. Thomas had a career-high 11 points and 2 rebounds off the bench. Taylor added 9 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out late in the first overtime. Stewart finished with 9 points and 2 rebounds. Williams had 5 points and 4 rebounds, Travis Little 3 points and 6 rebounds, Townsend 3 points and 1 rebound, and Zayden Martin scored 2 points while battling foul trouble before fouling out midway through the first overtime.
Henderson shot 17-25 from the free-throw line and 5-11 from three-point range. Lyon finished 17-32 from the line and 7-16 from deep. The Lyons held a slight 30-28 rebounding edge. Henderson committed 16 turnovers while Lyon had 15.
The Colonels finish the season 26-5 after winning their previous 15 games before Tuesday night’s loss. Lyon County improves to 29-6 and captures its fourth Region 2 title in the last five seasons.
The Region 2 Championship Game had only gone to overtime once before — an 80-76 loss by Henderson to Christian County in 1979.
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