For the second game in a row in the 7th District tournament, the Madisonville Maroons used an offensive eruption to put an opponent away. Friday night, it was the Hopkins Central Storm in the championship game of the district tournament. The Maroons exploded for 38 points in the 3rd quarter and pulled away from the Storm on their way to a 80-64 win.
Hopkins Central controlled the early moments of the game, leading by 7 points at 15-8. However, Madisonville outscored the Storm for the rest of the quarter 11-2 to take a 19-17 lead after one. Neither team could get much going offensively in the second quarter, with Madisonville inching the lead out to 29-26 at the break.
In the 3rd quarter, the Maroons turned up the heat, both offensively and defensively, against the Storm. Madisonville’s defensive pressure began to force Hopkins Central turnovers, which the Maroons turned into quick points. The increase in the pace of the game also appeared to take a toll on the Storm. Behind the play of Marquise Parker and Ksuan Casey, the Maroons outscored Hopkins Central 38-21 in the quarter to push the lead out to 67-47 and effectively end the game.
Parker and Casey led the Maroon attack with 20 points each, while Key Hobgood had 19 and Tylan Mann 18 to pace the Storm.
Madisonville improves to 21-9 on the season, while the Storm falls to 16-13. Both teams will advance to next week’s Boys 2nd Region tournament at Henderson County.
