The Elliott County Lions broke open a close game with a late, first-half, scoring flurry and eased past the Lyon County Lyons 77-61 Sunday afternoon at the Marshall County Hoopfest. Lyon County slips to 1-2 on the year, while Elliott County remains undefeated at 3-0.
Elliott County jumped out to a 7-point lead midway through the first quarter, but after a Kade Blackburn 3-pointer the Lyons closed to 13-10. Gabe Board scored 5 straight points early in the second quarter, but Lyon County trailed by 6. With 1:45 to play in the half, the Lyons’ Jackson Shoulders scored on a putback to cut the lead to 28-27. However, Elliott County closed the half on a 12-1 run, capped by a half-court buzzer beater by Gage Evans.
Elliott County began the second half with a 7-0 spurt, forcing a Lyon County timeout. A Board 3-point play trimmed to margin to 16 with 3:21 left in the quarter, before a 9-4 stretch over the next 2 minutes pushed Elliott’s lead past 20 points for the first time at 62-41.
At the beginning of the final frame, Shoulders pulled down a rebound and took it coast to coast for a layup, followed by a basket by Board that whittled the lead to 14. But that would be as close as the Lyons could get the rest of the way.
Spencer’s 37 points, including 25 in the first half, paced Elliott County, followed by Evans with 20. Board led the Lyons with 20, Blackburn finished with 19, and Shoulders fouled out with 14.
Lyon County is back in action on Tuesday for its 5th District opener against Livingston Central in Eddyville.