Lyon County ended Trigg County’s three-year run as 5th District champion Thursday night.
The Lyons will now try for their first district title in four years tonight (Saturday) when they face Livingston Central at 7 p.m. in Eddyville.
Taylor Gray scored 25 points and dished out seven assists and Mitchell Peeler added 17 points as the Lyons defeated the Wildcats 75-56 in semifinal round action.
The Lyons (12-13) sprinted to a 14-2 lead out of the gate and led from wire to wire in defeating Trigg for the first time in three tries this season.
Down 32-22 at halftime and 37-26 in the third quarter, the Wildcats (10-17) tried to make a run.
Three straight 3-pointers — two by Jonathan King and one from Dustin White — quickly trimmed the margin to two points.
King’s trey at the 4:06 mark pulled Trigg to within 37-35 and seemingly put momentum squarely on the Wildcats’ side.
However, following a timeout, Lyon was able to regroup, and responded with back-to-back buckets from Gray.
Gray’s 17-footer at the horn gave the Lyons a 46-40 lead entering the final stanza.
Trigg narrowed the gap to 46-43 on a three-point play by Shelton Burress, but Lyon again countered.
Peeler scored on a putback, then Gray drained a 3-pointer to make it 51-43 with 6:32 remaining.
Trigg got no closer than five points the rest of the way as the Lyons stretched out the final margin at the free throw stripe.
Gray, who scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, was a perfect 8-for-8 at the line, all coming in the fourth quarter.
Peeler had seven rebounds as the Lyons outrebounded Trigg 37-28.
While Gray had the hot hand in the second half, it was Peeler who shot Lyon out in front in the first half, netting 11 of his 17 before the break.
Ramsey Walker and Eddie Smith each added 11 points for the Lyons, who shot 51 percent from the field (28 of 55), including 3 of 8 from 3-point range.
Trigg, meanwhile, made just 35 percent of its shots (19 of 55) and was only 6 of 30 from behind the arc.
King led the Wildcats with 21 points despite still recovering from a bout with pneumonia that left the junior hospitalized.
Burress added 17 points for Trigg.
The Lyons, the No. 3 seeds, will take on top-seeded Livingston in the finals.
The Cardinals (9-15) defeated Crittenden County 63-57 in Thursday’s first semifinal game behind 17 points and 11 rebounds from Dylan Saint.
The Cardinals last won the district championship in 1994.
