Lyon

Lyon County athletes share high fives on their way to the bench during a fourth quarter timeout in their 86-80 win over Ballard on Wednesday night, Dec. 28.

 JENNIFER HAINES | Herald Ledger

LEXINGTON — The Lyon County Lyons pulled off a thrilling victory against the Louisville Ballard Bruins on Wednesday, Dec. 28, winning 86-80 to advance to the semi-final round of the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic High School.

After building a 10-point lead early in the first quarter, the Lyons found themselves up just 28-26 at halftime. The game remained closely contested in the second half, with the Bruins taking the lead with just eight seconds left in the third quarter, thanks to a 3-pointer from Gabe Sisk.

However, the Lyons refused to be discouraged, opening the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers from Brady Shoulders and Jack Reddick, followed by a 15-foot runner from Travis Perry. This gave the Lyons the lead once again, 70-63. The Bruins fought back, cutting the deficit to four points with just under three minutes left to play. However, a late rally from Lyon County’s Lukas Breedlove and Perry helped the Lyons extend their lead to nine points for the remainder of the game.

There were a couple of brief moments where tension ran high. With 1:19 on the clock and an 82-74 lead, the Lyons were looking to waste the clock. The Bruins made good use of minimal seconds on the clock when the Lyons were inbounding the ball after Miles Franklin’s basket, Sisk stole the ball and put it up to cut the margin to just four points once again.

Luckily for the Lyons, Ballard needed to foul to stop the clock and Perry collected both charity tosses. Seconds later, Sisk was accidentally fouled on a 3-pointer to send him to the line for three where he made two, but Breedlove grabbed the rebound to give the Lyons possession once again. One last foul attempt with five seconds on the clock sent Perry back to the line where he tacked on two more for the Lyons.

Perry was the standout player for the Lyons, finishing with 37 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Shoulders and Reddick also had strong games, finishing with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Sisk led the way for Louisville Ballard with 27 points, while Miles Franklin added 19 and Tim Fuller had 13.

Long-range shooting ultimately made the difference in the game, with the Lyons shooting 45.5% from 3-point range compared to 29.6% for the Bruins. Both teams shot in the 80% range from the free throw line, and around 50% on field goals. The teams were evenly matched in turnovers, with Lyon committing 11 and Louisville Ballard committing 12. The Lyons out-rebounded the Bruins 35-30 overall.

With the win, the Lyons advanced to the semi-final round.

Lyon County: 28 16 18 24 — 86

Louisville Ballard: 26 18 19 17 — 80

Lyon County — Perry 37, Shoulders 19, Reddick 17, Breedlove 7, Kirk 6.

Louisville Ballard — Sisk 27, Franklin 19, Fuller 13, Zubric 7, Frazier 7, Richardson 5, Chiles 2.