Christian County seemed poised to pull off one of the first upsets in the Second Region this year as they led Madisonville by 16 points early in the third quarter. However, the Maroons battled back and claimed a 69-64 win over the Colonels Tuesday at Lyle Dunbar Gymnasium.
The Colonels got out to a 16-12 lead after one quarter and pushed it out to ten points on a Stephen Bussell bucket midway through the second quarter. The Colonels held on to a 32-22 halftime lead and built a 16-point lead in the third quarter before K’Suan Casey went to work. The Maroon center scored 12 of his 28 points in the third quarter as Madisonville cut the Colonel lead to 43-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
Down 49-47, the Maroons used a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the second half at 53-49 with 4:13 left. The Colonels tied the game, one of nine ties in the contest, as the final four three minutes would see saw back and forth.
Down 57-55 in the waning seconds, Damikeon Mathis hit a driving shot with five seconds left to send the game to overtime. In the extra frame, missed a layup and the front end of a bonus free throw that would have given them the lead. Less than a week after free throws doomed them in a one-point loss to University Heights, the Maroons hit 6-of-7 in overtime to seal the win.
Kenny White scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help lead the comeback for the Maroons (5-2).
Fred Tandy led the Colonels with 18 points, while Stephen Bussell added 14. Eric Brody scored 11.
Christian County (3-4) heads to eastern Kentucky where they will play in the Pop’s Chevy Classic at Floyd Central High School in Langley.