Lyon County versus Caldwell County

Above, Michael Taylor guards his man-Photo by Kathy Stone

The Lyon County Lyons opened their season Tuesday night when they hosted the Caldwell County Tigers in the later game of the Lady Lyon/Lyon doubleheader. Unfortunately for the Tigers though, Lyon’s opening jitters wore away sooner than expected as the Lyons cruised to a 64-32 victory. After the graduation of three of last season’s starters, other players were required to step up and score in the new Lyon offense.
Caldwell’s Rusty P’Poole scored most of his points in the first quarter of play in order to keep the game close after Lyon started the game by going on a 10-5 run. P’Poole’s efforts combined with his team’s three point goals kept Caldwell close to finish the quarter. At the conclusion of the first quarter of play, Lyon narrowly held on to a 12-11 lead.
Lyon expanded upon its lead even more outscoring the Tiger offense 26-12. In a quarter that included Warron Sutton showcasing and scoring off his offensive rebounds, Bryant Houk’s long distance three point goals, and Lyon’s general perseverance and determination to score, the Caldwell defense staggered. Timmy Perdue’s spin move basket on a fast break through two defenders ended the half at 38-23. At the half, Perdue with 12 and Taylor Gray with 11 were both already in double digits.
Offensive rebounding by Lyon County played a tremendous role after the half, which gave Lyon the momentum for the remainder of the quarter. Lyon’s full court pass in which a Gray pass found Chris Ringstaff going long towards the basket, whose layup gave Lyon a 47-26 lead. Caldwell’s struggling offense scored only three points throughout the quarter, as Lyon controlled the boards on both sides of the court.
The final quarter of play was dominated again by Lyon’s ability to rebound offensively and defensively. Members from both teams’ benches got valuable playing time and continued on with the intensity of the game. By the end of the game, Lyon took the victory and the bragging rights associated with the ongoing rivalry.
Lyon was led by Michael Taylor in scoring with 20 points. Perdue ended the game with 14 points, while Sutton finished with 12 points versus the Tiger defense. As a team, Lyon hit 3 from beyond the arc and went 7 of 8 from the charity stripe. The Lyons also made 24 field goals throughout the contest.
Caldwell’s offense was dominated by Dwight Wisdom’s 8 point performance, followed closely by P’Poole who had 7. Two Tigers had 6 points apiece in Tron Gray and Brad Dixon. The Tigers made 3 three pointers, along with 11 field goals in their outing. From the free throw line, Caldwell hit 1 of its 4 attempts.
Junior varsity Lyons will be hosting Marshall County for a freshman/JV contest that will begin at 6 p.m. with the freshman action on Dec. 10. The varsity Lyons will next be in action at Marshall County, where they will be facing the Marshals at 7:30 on Dec. 11 and Arnold, Florida the following night at 6 p.m. Livingston Central will visit the freshman/JV Lyons on Dec. 14 with freshman festivities beginning at 6:00. On Dec. 15, Lyon County will be hosting district rival Crittenden County in a JV/V contest. Junior varsity action will begin at 6 p.m., while the varsity game will f