Junior guard Kenyatta Carbon dominated all night long, getting his buckets in a variety of ways to finish with 30 points and helping the Red Devils grab a 63-58 win at home over Madisonville-North Hopkins.
Both teams got off to a bit of a slow start, with them trying to decipher the offense. Despite having an early edge inside due to their size, the Maroons weren’t able to take the lead and had it tied at 13-13 going into the second. Then, it became the Kenyatta Carbon show.
After grabbing six points in the first, the junior guard went off for 11 points in the second. Closing out the first half with a team-leading 18 points, he helped Owensboro walk into halftime with a 30-23 lead.
Carbon stayed hot in the third quarter with seven of the Red Devils 15 points, remaining in charge 45-37 going into the fourth with a relentless Madisonville-North Hopkins team not giving up.
The Maroons went on a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 47-42 with 6:24 left to play. Madisonville-North Hopkins made it a three-point game at 52-49 later in the period, but a pull-up jumper from Carbon followed by a steal on the ensuing possession quickly had Owensboro with momentum on its side once again.
Despite not having a large lead it seemed as though the Red Devils were going to come away with the win without challenge in the final minute, but the Maroons had other ideas.
Trailing 59-55, a steal and a foul on Carbon following the turnover sent Madisonville-North Hopkins to the line with 32.4 seconds to play. The front end of the one-and-one was missed and senior Amari Robinson-Wales sank both free throws on the other end to make it 61-55.
The Maroons quickly responded with a three, cutting it to 61-58 with 20.1 seconds left in the game. However, Owensboro was fouled on the following possession and the Red Devils sank the free throws that would be the ultimate dagger, as they claimed a 63-58 win.
Carbon led all scorers with 30 points, while senior Kale Gaither led Madisonville-North Hopkins with 28 points despite practically having one hand due to a left-hand injury. Robinson-Wales was the only other player to finish in double figures for Owensboro, closing the game with 13 points.
Now sitting at 14-5 overall and riding a two-game winning streak, Owensboro is set to take on Daviess County at 7:30 p.m. Friday for a district duel.
