Playing three games in 24 hours in the A&K Construction Holiday Classic, the Marshals tipped off in the first game on Saturday morning at 10:30 against Louisville Valley, just a little over 12 hours after their 87-72 win over Hopkins County Central.
After trailing 2-0, the Marshals ripped off the next 14 points to lead 14-2 and led 18-6 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was highlighted by the 3-pointer, three by Valley from Xavier Johnson with two and one from Cameron Wilson, the Marshals threes came from Tyler Powell, Matthew Wooten and Jay Nimmo. Marshall County led 33-22 at halftime, led with 10 points from Powell while Valley was led by Wilson with nine.
Valley out-scored the Marshals 21-9 in the third quarter to lead 43-42, just their second lead of the game. They were led in the third quarter by Wilson with eight points and Johnson with seven. Powell put the Marshals back up by one to start the fourth quarter, he added three more points off free throws followed by a three from Jay Nimmo for a 53-52 lead.
A three from Wilson put the Vikings back up by two points and three ties later, it was 59-59 with 16.3 seconds to go. Two straight time-outs by Valley with the ball, set up a shot by Isaac St. Claire at the buzzer for a 61-59 win.
Powell led the Marshals with 23 points, Wilson led Valley with 23 and 14 came from Johnson.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Final | |
| Valley | 6 | 22 | 43 | 61 |
| Marshall | 18 | 33 | 42 | 59 |
Marshall: Powell 23, Stokes 10, Nimmo 9, Wooten 7, Flatt 6, C. Riley 4
In the final game of the Holiday Classic, Marshall County played Apollo just over seven hours after the buzzer-beater loss to Valley. Apollo lost a close game to Valley on Friday 54-51 and with an even shorter turn-around, lost their noon game to Hopkins County Central 71-64. Behind 18 points by Stokes and 12 from Powell, the Marshals beat Apollo 50-41.
Apollo led 5-0 before the Marshals offense got rolling, their first two points off free throws by Stokes and Powell. They finished out the quarter by out-scoring the Eagles 15-2, with five points each coming from Bryce Flatt and Stokes.
Dylon Talbott scored for Apollo to open the second quarter followed by a 3-pointer from Nimmo to keep the Marshals lead at 11 points. A three from Harrison Bowman cut it back to eight before Stokes picked up his own rebound off a three attempt and dropped the ball in to put the lead back at 10. Stokes scored again for a 24-12 lead before Apollo went on a 9-0 run to cut the Marshals lead to three points before a tip in before the buzzer by Stokes gave them a 26-21 halftime lead.
Matthew Wooten scored the first seven points for the Marshals to start the second half but Apollo hung in, just a basket away from tying the game twice in the third quarter and stayed within four points of the Marshals at 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Three minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter before either team scored, the first basket coming from Apollo to cut the Marshals lead to two points. The Marshals would finish out the game out-scoring Apollo 11-4 behind seven points from Powell and four by Stokes to win by nine.
They will play St. Mary on Jan. 1 at 3:00 and on Jan. 4 at Calloway County, tip-off at 7:30.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Final | |
| Marshall | 17 | 26 | 39 | 50 |
| Apollo | 7 | 21 | 35 | 41 |
Marshall: Stokes 18, Powell 12, Wooten 7, Flatt 5, Nimmo 3, C. Riley 3, Smothers 2
Apollo: Bowman 12, Frantz 10, Ash 8, St. Claire 7, Talbott 2, Kelly 2
