It makes for two pretty impressive wins to start the season. The Madisonville-North Hopkins Maroons picked up their second win of the week Friday night, rallying from an 8 point halftime deficit to take down Zion Harmon and the Marshall County Marshalls 67-57 in one of the marquee matchups of the 2019 Hoop Fest.
The Maroons got out to an early 6-5 lead in the Marshal’s home gym. However, led by the play of Harmon, Marshall County battled back to take a 16-14 lead. While Harmon got a great deal of attention, the Maroons’ Kenny White had a great start, scoring 8 points in the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, it looked as if Marshall County was ready to take control of the game. The Marshals began to clamp down on White, and the Maroons could find no way to slow down Harmon. By the end of the half, Harmon had cranked out 21 points and the Marshals had a 31-23 lead.
As many teams found out in the 2nd Region last season, when he gets going, Ksuan Casey can be a “big” problem. Marshall County found that out in the second half. Madisonville got things cranked up in the third quarter and, after a 10-2 run, took a 37-35 lead. Add in the fact that Kenny White got on a roll in the 3rd quarter, and the Marshals found themselves in a bit of a troubling situation.
By the time the Marshals could get their footing again, Madisonville had ripped off a 20-2 run. And, when the quarter ended, it was the Maroons in control, leading 47-40.
Down the stretch, the Marshals would get within five points, but the Maroons were able to stave off any attempt at a rally and rolled on out to the 10 point win.
Kenny White earned game MVP honors with 22 points to lead the Maroons. Casey added 16, while Deljuan Johnson added 13.
For those wanting to see just how good Zion Harmon is, he did not disappoint. The Marshall County junior finished the night with 37 points.