The Hopkinsville Tigers roared out of the gate on Friday night at Kenwood High School, taking a big early lead before needing a last-second shot to knock off the Knights 63-62 in Clarksville. The Tigers even their record at 1-1 after an opening-night road loss to Paducah Tilghman.
The Tigers raced out to an early 10-0 lead, eventually stretching the advantage to 18-2. James Nicholas scored 7 points and Jacarius Burks had 5 to lead Hoptown to a 22-7 cushion after the first quarter.
The Knights clawed their way back into the game in the second quarter, using 7 points from James “Scooter” Williams to cut the lead to 28-19 and force a Hoptown timeout with 3:53 left in the first half. Two Nicholas 3-pointers on either side of a blocked shot by Jamarion Sharp pushed the Tiger lead back to 15 at 36-21, and they took a 38-26 advantage into the break. Nicholas’ 15 points led all scorers, while Williams posted 10 for the Knights.
Kenwood continued to battle back in the third quarter, with Williams cutting the lead to 40-35 with a dunk with 4:19 left in the frame. A Don Victor 3-point play stretched the Tiger lead back to double figures at 47-36, and they led 49-40 heading into the final quarter.
A follow dunk by Tefrell Toliver gave the Tigers an 11-point lead with 5:00 to play, but the Knights would outscore them 10-2 over the next 3:00 to pull within 3 at 57-54 with 2:00 left. After a Hopkinsville turnover, Williams converted on back-to-back 3-point plays to give the Knights their first lead at 60-57.
Victor answered with a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 60-60, before Williams once again scored and drew a foul with :15.6 on the clock. He would miss the free throw, setting up the Tigers with a final possession to tie or win.
After the ball was knocked out of bounds by the Knights, Hopkinsville inbounded under its own basket with :6.6 left. The ball went to Nicholas on the wing, he pump faked a defender into the air, before draining the 3 over the outstretched hand of another Knight defender. Kenwood quickly inbounded, but were left with a half-court heave that fell short, giving the Tigers the 63-62 victory.
Nicholas’ 18 points were tops for the Tigers, followed by Alijah Watts with 14. Sharp finished with 10 and Burks scored 8. Kenwood’s Williams scored 15 in the fourth quarter to finish with a game-high 29. No other Knight reached double figures.
Hopkinsville has a short turnaround before they return to the court, welcoming Northwest (Clarksville) to Tiger Gym on Saturday night.