The Henderson County Colonels put together a competitive weekend at the Faupel Automotive Group Colonel Basketball Classic on December 27–28, splitting a pair of games at Colonel Gym.
Henderson faced two Louisville opponents, dropping a narrow 73-71 loss to DeSales on Saturday before responding with a hard-fought 60-56 win over Atherton on Sunday, closing the event at 8-3 on the season.
Saturday’s matchup with DeSales (9-2) featured an up-tempo pace and physical play on both ends. Henderson County had difficulty finding consistency from the perimeter, finishing 1-of-8 from three-point range, while DeSales connected on timely outside shots. The Colonels were still efficient overall, shooting 53% from the field.
Junior guard Xavion Johnson led Henderson with 19 points, consistently pressuring the defense with drives and mid-range looks, including a buzzer-beating jumper to end the first quarter. Junior Amare Stewart rebounded from an early shooting slump to score 13 points, highlighted by a deep three late in the game.
Sophomore Malaikye Taylor added 11 points, while junior Zayden Martin also finished with 11 points, scoring eight in the fourth quarter. Senior Travis Little chipped in eight points.
Henderson’s bench provided a key spark, particularly in the third quarter, when head coach Tyler Smithhart turned to his reserves early in the half to shift the game’s energy.
On the decision, Smithhart said, “They (the starters) came back much more aggressive. I thought they kind of picked up where the second group set the tone.” He added, “It’s not a move I like to pull regularly, but when you have a bunch of guys on your bench who play hard, you might have to use that move.”
DeSales led 37-31 at halftime behind steady production from Cameron Bischoff, Ryan Age, and Kaden Childs. The Colts pushed the margin to 56-42 entering the fourth quarter, but Henderson mounted a late surge.
Martin opened the rally with two straight three-point plays, Stewart knocked in a couple of free throws, Brayden Dennis came up with a steal and finish, and Taylor’s and-1 cut the deficit to six.
Stewart knocked down a deep three with 54 seconds remaining to make it 70-67. The Colonels forced turnovers and created chances down the stretch, including a stolen inbound pass, but ultimately ran out of time in the closing sequence.
After the game, Johnson pointed to areas for improvement.
“We need to push the ball up the court and rebound better,” he said. “Our bench came in and gave us a momentum boost to keep us in the game.”
Smithhart echoed that sentiment, viewing the loss as a learning opportunity. “Really good game for us to grow from,” the coach said. “We learned that when you play really good basketball teams, you’ve got to bring energy and effort from the jump.”
Less than 24 hours later, Henderson carried that urgency into Sunday’s matchup with Atherton, who entered the game at 9-1. Smithhart adjusted the starting lineup, inserting Taylor and Little, and the Colonels delivered across the board.
Johnson again led the Colonels with 17 points, scoring efficiently around the rim and controlling the game. Stewart added 13 points, including a three-pointer and a few mid-range jumpers.
Senior center Braden Williams gave Henderson a lift off the bench with 11 points, scoring at the rim and even stepping out to hit a three-pointer. Martin finished with 10 points, getting six of those at the stripe, and sophomore Mikey Woolfork added seven points with multiple finishes in the paint.
Henderson took a 19-13 lead after the first quarter behind early scoring from Johnson, Stewart and Williams. The Colonels extended the advantage to 32-24 at halftime, capped by Stewart’s pull-up jumper at the horn. Atherton fought back in the third quarter, but Woolfork’s spark kept Henderson in control before a 17-minute tornado warning delay halted play late in the period.
The fourth quarter stayed tight, as Atherton trimmed the margin to four on multiple occasions. Martin steadied Henderson at the free-throw line, Johnson remained poised with the ball, and the Colonels strung together key defensive stops to protect the lead.
A pivotal sequence gave Atherton a late opportunity when Henderson fouled on a three-point attempt. Down four, Atherton missed all three free throws, and Henderson sealed the win 20 seconds later.
Williams, the big man, led the Colonels on the glass with five rebounds and credited his approach.
“I went in there and battled,” he said. “Some things may not go your way, but you can’t just shut down. We fought hard as a team.”
Martin has come on strong over the last four games, scoring eight points or more in each. While he is known as a strong defender, he credited his recent success to staying patient offensively.
“I’ve been able to finish around the rim and let the game come to me,” Martin said. “We hit our free throws when we needed to and played great defense over the stretch of the game.”
Smithhart was pleased with the response from his group.
“We have a lot to learn still, but I love the fact that our guys came in and started well,” Smithart said. “We’ve got some really good games under our belt the last couple of days to learn from.”
The split leaves Henderson County confident as it heads into 2026 at 8-3.
“For a young team, considering what we lost last year, these guys have done a great job picking up where we left off,” Smithhart said.
Looking ahead to their matchup Friday at Evansville Harrison, he added, “I’m looking forward to three straight days here of practice where we can work to get better.”
