Lyon County and Livingston Central looked like another tight 5th District battle early.
But the Lyons blew things open in the second quarter, speeding up the game with a full-court press and going on to defeat the Cardinals 71-48 Friday night in Smithland.
Lyon (2-0 overall, 1-0 district) led just 17-16 after 8 minutes, but outscored Livingston 20-8 in the second period to get to halftime with a 37-24 advantage.
The Lyons then put the game away in the third quarter, going up by as much as 30 points, 58-28, before taking a 60-35 advantage to the final stanza.
Lyon, which has a noon game Saturday in Marion, Ill., was able to use its bench the rest of the way while securing the 23-point triumph.
Travis Perry led all scorers in the contest with 20 points for the Lyons, including an 8-for-9 performance at the free throw stripe. Gunnar Bingham scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half.
Max Downey topped Livingston with 15 points while Isaac Wring had 14.
The two teams meet again Jan. 10 in Eddyville.
Lyon County 17 20 23 11 — 71
Livingston Cent. 16 8 11 13 — 48
Lyon (2-0, 1-0) — Perry 20, Bingham 15, Shoulders 9, Blackburn 7, Parker 6, Hawkins 5, Whalin 4, Cissell 3, Crawford 2.
Livingston (0-2, 0-1) — Downey 15, Wring 14, J. Barnes 6, Garrett 4, D. Barnes 3, Johnson 3, Goodaker 2, Rains 1.