Zion Harmon had 21 points in the first half, the Marshals taking a 31-23 lead into the locker room at halftime. Adjustments made by #3 ranked Madisonville at halftime proved to be the answer for the Maroons whose 20-2 run in the second half led to the 10-point win in front of a full house at Reed Conder Gymnasium.
Head Coach Terry Birdsong said the second half run for Madisonville was huge and they did a good job making Harmon work for everything. Birdsong said his team needs to find more balance offensively and improve on their toughness.
“At the end of the day you’ve got to make shots”, Birdsong said of the chances missed in the second half. Giving credit to Madisonville, a good physical team and good defensively.
Two straight threes by Madisonville’s Kenny White gave the Maroons a quick 6-0 lead and the Marshals would trail until taking the lead a 12-11 after Harmon made three free throws after fouled shooting a three. Harmon scored the final four points of the quarter to give Marshall County a 16-14 lead.
Zach Tow’s 3-pointer to start the second quarter put the Maroons back up by one. Harmon scored six straight and Dawson Smothers added two free throws to put the Marshals on top 24-19, holding the lead behind a three from Tyler Powell and two baskets to end the half from Harmon for a 31-23 lead.
Harmon and Tyler Stokes put the Marshals up by 10 points early in the second half, cut to six by Madisonville with Harmon adding two points for an eight point lead before the Maroons 20-point run turned things around quickly. They led by 10 before Stokes found the net from behind the arc to cut Madisonville’s lead to 47-40.
Foul trouble began to creep in for the Marshals with Stokes picking up his third at the end of the third quarter and fourth at the start of the fourth quarter. Trailing by seven, two long-range threes from Harmon cut Madisonville’s lead to three points. Down 52-46, Powell picked up his fourth foul making him the third player with four fouls for the Marshals with 3:38 to go.
Stokes fouled out with Marshall County down 57-46 followed by Smothers heading to the bench with his fifth foul. Harmon’s three with 1:13 to go cut the Maroons lead to nine and with 18 seconds remaining, his fourth three of the game cut the lead to six, but Madisonville’s successful trips to the foul line in the closing seconds put the game away.
Marshall County 16 31 40 57
Madisonville 14 23 47 67
Marshall County: Zion Harmon 37, Tyler Stokes 7, Tyler Powell 5, Brady Miller 2, Bryce Flatt 2, Kaden Driver 2, Dawson Smothers 2
Madisonville: Kenny White 22, K’suan Casey 16, Deljuan Johnson 13, Keshawn Stone 7, Marquise Parker 6, Zach Tow 3
Marshall County: FG 15/30, 3 Pt 6/26, FT 9/11, TR 28, AST 4, STL 3, TO 7, PF 25
Madisonville: FG 18/31, 3 Pt 5/17, FT 16/33, TR 39, AST 13, STL4, TO 10, PF 16
