‘Man, don’t miss that free throw.’ Travis Perry talks about making history in Sweet 16 win.

By the midway point of the fourth quarter, Lyon County seemed almost assured of a win over Newport in the 2023 UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16.

But the Lyons’ purple-clad faithful knew their beloved junior guard, Travis Perry, remained a few precious points away from making Kentucky boys’ high school basketball history. Perry needed 21 points Thursday to surpass Wayland legend “King” Kelly Coleman’s career mark of 4,337.

Perry had 18 points when he rose for a wide-open three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. The ball achingly circled around the rim and out to one of the loudest sighs one could imagine from a Rupp Arena crowd that totaled 13,964 for the two-game afternoon session, one of the best Sweet 16 session attendance totals in years.

Moments later, Perry tied Coleman’s mark with a layup for a 14-point lead, 50-35 with 4:40 to go in the game.

Less than a minute after that, Perry took a hard foul on the way to another layup. He could break Coleman’s mark at the free throw line with a single make.

Did Perry know?

“I kind of could tell whenever I went to the free throw line and I looked around for a minute and like everybody was standing up,” Perry said. “It was one of those things where I was like, ‘Man, don’t miss that free throw.’”

Perry made it. His father, Lyon Coach Ryan Perry called timeout. And then the Lyon County end of Rupp Arena roared its praise.

“It was something, obviously, very neat,” Perry said in the postgame press conference after finishing with 23 points, including four-three-pointers and a career mark of 4,340 points and counting. “But you know, (Coleman) didn’t have the three-point line. It’s never been about the scoring record. It’s been about going out and playing basketball.

“Scoring points is fun, but winning games is a lot more fun. So that’s the thing I’m most proud of today. I’m proud of the way we fought. I’m proud of the way we stepped up on the big stage and came out with a win.”

Lyon County defeated Newport 61-46 by beating the Wildcats at their own pace instead of trying to push the tempo closer to its state-leading 83.9 per game average. That was intentional, Coach Perry said.

“We decided at the last minute to kind of change the game plan around a little bit and play their style and bank on us being able to make more plays down the stretch,” Coach Perry said. “We got lucky and made some big plays and shots in the middle to the end of the third quarter and stretched it out a little bit.”

Lyon County’s Jack Reddick hit a three-pointer to cap a 16-4 run that straddled the end of the first half and start of the second to put the Lyons up 35-24 with 3:03 left in the third period. Lyon led 40-30 at the end of the third, an uncomfortable deficit for the deliberate pace that Newport liked to play. Reddick finished with 17 points and had 11 rebounds. Brady Shoulders chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Despite giving up some early offensive rebounds against the Wildcats, Lyon outrebounded Newport 40-26 for the game. Marquez Miller led Newport with 17 points. Taylen Kinney added 11.

“They were making it tough for us. They were physical,” Newport Coach Rodney Snapp said after his team finished its season 28-8. “They made us get out of our scheme a little bit and we took a couple of shots that we usually don’t take.”

For Lyon County (31-5), Travis Perry’s long run at a historic mark has finally ended. The possibility of breaking Coleman’s mark had hovered around the team for more than a year when it first came to light that the Lyons’ leading scorer since seventh grade was on a record-shattering pace.

Now, there is gratitude, humility and a chance for everyone to just focus on the games instead of the numbers.

“It’s something that’s been really fun, something I’ve been very thankful for and very humbled by,” Travis Perry said. “But, really, it’s still the same message I’ve been saying from the beginning. It’s about winning.

“The more games you win, the farther you get to play, the more points I get to score, the more points Brady gets to score, Bradin (Nelson), Jack — everybody gets to score more points the farther you go. It’s about winning the games and going out and playing for each other.”

2023 BOYS’ SWEET 16

What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.

When: Wednesday through Saturday

Where: Rupp Arena

Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org.

Wednesday’s games

Woodford County 60, Jeffersontown 57 (OT)

Elizabethtown 48, McCracken County 44

Warren Central 80, Pulaski County 55

Ashland Blazer 66, Owensboro 65

Thursday’s games

Male 94, Breathitt County 59

Lyon County 61, Newport 46

Frederick Douglass 73, Martin County 53

George Rogers Clark 62, North Laurel 54

Friday’s quarterfinals

11 a.m.: Woodford County (21-12) vs. Elizabethtown (24-9)

1:30 p.m.: Warren Central (33-1) vs. Ashland Blazer (23-11)

6 p.m.: Frederick Douglass (32-2) vs. Male (26-10)

8:30 p.m.: Lyon County (31-5) vs. George Rogers Clark (28-5)

Saturday’s games

11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s morning session

1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session

7 p.m.: Championship

Boys’ Sweet 16: Day 2 wrap-up from the basketball state tournament in Rupp Arena

Lyon County’s Travis Perry breaks Kentucky’s 67-year-old boys’ basketball scoring record

Slideshow: Lyon County beats Newport at Sweet 16

‘A tremendous team effort.’ Male breaks Sweet 16 three-point record on way to victory.

Slideshow: Male beats Breathitt County at Boys’ Sweet 16

Boys’ Sweet 16: Day 1 wrap-up from the basketball state tournament in Rupp Arena