It was defense that got the Christian County Colonels a big lead Tuesday night, and it was defense that pulled them out of the fire late. Christian County, after leading by 17 points in the second half, saw Henderson County close to within two, but then pulled away late enroute to a season opening 66-53 win.
Christian County opened the contest on a 7-2 run to take the early lead. Stephen Bussell got the Colonels rolling with five of the first seven points. Henderson battled back to tie the game at 7-7, but Christian County responded by going on a 6-0 run to go up 13-7. Henderson County then closed out the opening quarter on an 8-2 spurt of their own to tie the game at 15-15.
Christian County turned up the heat defensively at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and Henderson began to have their struggles on the offensive end. Turnovers and poor free throw shooting cost Henderson dearly, as Christian County opened the quarter with an impressive 15-2 blitz to pull out to a 30-17 lead. Olajuwon White scored 8 of his 10 first half points during the run.
Christian County would go on to take a 34-22 lead into the locker room at the break.
Christian County’s defense continued to have an impact in the early moments of the 3rd quarter. The Colonels opened with a 6-1 run to push the lead out to their biggest of the night at 40-23. Then, out of the blue, the momentum took a big turn in the other direction.
Shots began to miss the mark for Christian County, and Henderson County started to fight their way back into the contest. The northen Colonels outscored Christian County over the rest of the third quarter 12-3 to close to within 43-35. StePhan McGuire and Noah Curry helped to ignite the beginning of the rally for Henderson County.
The rally continued into the opening moments of the final quarter, as behind the play of McGuire and Curry, Henderson County closed the gap to two points at 52-50. Just when the Colonels were in dire need of a big play, they got one from sophomore Herbert Forte, who drilled a three from the left corner to slam the door on the Henderson comeback.
Forte’s three accounted for the first points in an 11-1 run that moved the lead back out to double figures, sealing the win for Christian County.
Qua Chambers led the attack for Christian County with 18 points. Stephen Bussell finished with 12 points, seven of them coming in the final quarter. Olajuwon White added 12 points before fouling out with just under three minutes to go in the game. Mikeon Mathis ended the game with seven points.
Noah Curry was the only Henderson player to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points. StePhan McGuire and Xavier Bugg each had nine points for Henderson County.
Christian County returns to action Thursday evening when they host Webster County.