Showtime: No. 1 Lyon County routs Lexington Catholic for holiday tournament title

From a distance, it’s easy to think of Lyon County’s team as the “Travis Perry Show.”

The celebrated University of Kentucky signee is the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky boys high school basketball history after all.

But in knocking off previously unbeaten Lexington Catholic in the Knights’ White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic championship game by a score of 83-63 on Saturday, the Lyons proved a few things: Both Perry and the Herald-Leader preseason No. 1 Lyons are the real deal, and they are far more than a one-man show.

They are a show. Period.

“We like to play fast. We like to score points, get shots up and play a fun style of basketball,” Perry said after Saturday’s win in front of a near-capacity crowd at LexCath’s Beuter Gym. “We kind of knew they were going to press. That’s just the style they play. They’re long, athletic and smart … For us to be able to come out here and just kind of manipulate it around how we needed … late in the game we got a lot of layups for our guys just doing the right play.”

Perry’s stat line against Lexington Catholic stood out: 33 points on 11 of 17 made baskets, including hitting 7 of 11 3-pointers with five rebounds, five assists and no turnovers.

“For me, it’s just about making the right play every time,” Perry said. “The last two nights, I felt like I forced it a little bit and got out of my game … but we had guys step up last night. Tonight, I felt like we all played together and played one good game and that’s really what it takes.”

Perry’s back-to-back 3-pointers to close a decisive third quarter helped the Lyons turn a 44-44 halftime tie into a 67-52 lead on the way to a rout. His last was a step-through 20-foot leaner that bounced off the front of the rim and in just before the quarter horn sounded.

“He did a little bit of everything and showed why he’s going to go to the University of Kentucky and going to be Mr. Basketball,” said LexCath coach Brandon Salsman, whose Knights (12-1) ranked No. 13 in the H-L preseason poll and had risen to No. 3 in the latest Kentucky MaxPreps rankings. “He had my (Mr. Basketball) vote a long time ago and he left with it again today.”

Lexington Catholic hung with Lyon for two quarters by shooting 64% from the field in the first half and nailing 10 3-pointers, including six by senior guard John Reinhart, who tied the game at the halftime horn with a 3-pointer from right of the key. Reinhart finished with 22 points but made only one 3-pointer in a second half that saw LexCath shoot a cool 30% from the field as Lyon pulled away. The Knights’ Tyler Doyle scored 20.

“Dad kind of got on us at halftime,” Travis Perry said of his coach and father, Ryan Perry. “He said, ‘The only way they are beating us is if they have 15 (3-pointers) and they had 10 at halftime. … We played hard defense and turned it around.”

The Lyons racked up 22 assists as they kept up a torrid shooting pace for all four quarters, making 68.2% of their field goals, including nine of their 16 3-point attempts. Three other Lyons scored in double figures, led by senior point guard Jack Reddick, who had 15 points and eight assists. Brady Shoulders and Braydon Kirk added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

The night before in an 86-65 win over Frederick Douglass, five Lyons reached double figures, led by Perry’s 26 points. In beating H-L preseason No. 17 DeSales on Thursday, Shoulders scored a game-high 27 points to go with Perry’s 24 and Reddick’s 20.

“We’ve got a bunch of guys with a lot of heart and experience, and we’ve got a really good group of young guys that are getting better every week,” Coach Perry said. “This week, a couple of those guys stepped up into some big roles we haven’t seen out of them yet — Isaac Defew, Lukas Breedlove — they really got big this week and it was huge for us.”

Reddick told the Herald-Leader he doesn’t mind all the attention Perry gets, like when UK coach John Calipari and some Wildcats players came out Wednesday night to see their 97-41 blowout of Bourbon County in the tourney opener.

“It’s awesome. Travis brings all the attention, but we just keep playing,” Reddick said. “We’re playing really good basketball, and we’ve just got to keep doing it.”

The Lyons take a 12-1 record into the new year with their only loss coming Dec. 9 to Missouri MaxPreps No. 11 Father Tolton (Columbia, Mo.). Lyon defeated South Carolina No. 6 Lexington, S.C., and Alabama No. 5 Buckhorn at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, a week ago.

“Our schedule through December was absolutely brutal, but it’s like that all the way to the end of the year,” Coach Perry said. “We’ve got Warren Central, the defending state champion, coming to play us on Tuesday night. … But you’ve got to get in the habit of not being able to take any days off. Then it makes it a little bit easier to stay hungry and stay motivated.

“If you don’t, you’re going to get your butt beat.”

Lyon County doesn’t shy from the goal of being the second team to win both an All “A” Classic small-school state championship and a KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16. Shelby Valley and its Mr. Basketball, Elisha Justice, managed that near impossible feat in 2010.

“We’re trying to get every game, every trophy, every title that we can, because we want to win,” Coach Perry said. “We’d love for our Lyon County boys and girls both to play in the All “A” state tournament again. It’s not going to be easy. … There are a lot of games between now and then. We’re going to attack them all the same way — really, really hard. We’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”

Lyon County’s All “A” Classic quest begins with 2nd Region play on Jan. 9 at Crittenden County. The statewide All “A” Classic begins Jan. 24 at Corbin Arena.

Highlights: UK basketball signee Travis Perry leads Lyon County to Lexington tourney title

Past meets present as Lyon County’s Travis Perry plays in historic Wayland Gymnasium

Why did Travis Perry commit to Kentucky basketball? ‘That dream is always there.’

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