The University Heights Academy boys’ basketball team delivered a statement win on Friday night, going into Maroon Gym and beating Madisonville-North Hopkins 77-59. The Blazers have now won three straight to improve to 8-4, while the Maroons suffer their fourth defeat to go with twelve wins.
With 2:22 left in the first quarter, the Maroons took a 14-8 lead after a rebound and putback, but back-to-back three-pointers by freshman guard KJ Crump and junior guard Drew McGowan, who had 5 points in the frame, drew the Blazers level at 14 at the end of the opening quarter.
A dunk by junior guard Kyky Tandy sandwiched between two baskets by junior forward Taquan Hollowell gave the Blazers a 22-16 lead with 4:33 left until halftime, before an and-one for Madisonville cut the lead to 3. UHA responded with a 7-0 run, powered by 5 points from Tandy, to take a 10 point lead and force a Maroon timeout with 3:38 until the break. From there, the teams traded baskets, including two three-pointers from Hollowell, and the Blazers took a 37-26 lead into halftime.
Tandy led the way for the Blazers with 15 first-half points, followed by Hollowell’s 10. Junior shooting guard Cade Cunningham had 7 for the Maroons, and sophomore center Ksuan Casey chipped in 6.
With 4:25 left to play in the third quarter, the Maroons pulled to 43-39 after a score and free throw. Tandy would score 5 straight, before Madisonville converted two free throws after a bench technical on the Blazers, cutting the lead to 5. The teams went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, and the Blazers took a 54-48 lead into the final period.
After a Maroon bucket and UHA timeout, the Blazers went on a decisive 6-0 run, including a Tandy dunk, to lead by 11 at 61-50. The closest the Maroons got from there was 8, but the Blazers maintained a double-figure lead over the last three and a half minutes to win 77-59, punctuated by a Tandy windmill dunk at the final buzzer.
Tandy bettered his 32.3 average, pouring in 40 points, including 25 in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter. Hollowell also got into double-figures at 15, followed by McGowan with 9. Senior forward Malik Lovan scored 6, Crump added 5, and junior forward Zach Naylor had a bucket.
The Blazers will hope to recuperate quickly from the hard-fought win, as they travel to Lincoln County on Saturday to compete in the Patriot Classic against 8-3 Southwestern, before making their way back to Paducah on Sunday to take on the 8-9 Murray High Tigers.