PIKEVILLE — Martin County fought off Lawrence County for an 80-71 overtime win Saturday in the 15th Region Tournament semifinals at Appalachian Wireless Arena.
A crowd showed up to support their teams in this high-stakes contest that many called the most entertaining game of the tournament.
This was the first meeting of the two teams this season. Martin County came with a 22-10 record and was in the hunt for the second 15th Region championship in three years. Lawrence brought a 19-14 record and was the underdog looking for an upset.
The game stayed tight, keeping fans on their feet, and was two missed free throws from going the other way. With the score tied 64-64 and 5.2 seconds left in the game, Martin County got a whistle for a foul. Lawrence County was in the double bonus, and fans held their breath as Bloomfield went to the line to shoot two free throws. Both shots bounced off the rim, sending the game into overtime, much to the joy of the Cardinal faithful.
“We did a great job of handling adversity tonight,” Martin County coach Jason James said. “Our kids battled and wouldn’t quit, and several guys stepped up huge. Glad to be back in the finals again.”
“Playing most of the game without Luke [Hale] because of foul trouble and still able to win despite a lot of things we couldn’t control not going our way.”
Lawrence County came out in a box and one chaser on junior Luke Hale. Bulldog Blake Marcum got the call to shut down Hale and try to limit his touches. The Cardinals struggled a little trying to adjust their offense. Hale was whistled for fouls early and often. He spent much of the game on the bench due to foul trouble.
Will Lafferty knocked down two free throws to get Lawrence on the board first. Dray Duff answered with a deuce and Hale drained two free throws at the 6:40 mark to put the Cards up 4-2. Matt Linville scored to make it 6-2.
Lafferty caught fire for Lawrence County, knocking down a trey at 6:05 to cut the lead to 6-5. Jacob Sturgell answered with a basket for the Cards, but Marcum hit a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs to tie the score at 8-8 at the 5:24 mark.
Lafferty struck again for a deep 3-pointer to put Lawrence in front 11-8. McKenzie answered with a basket to narrow the gap to 11-10 before Lafferty drained his third 3-pointer to stretch it to 14-10.
McKenzie struck twice at 3:38 to bring the Cards within one point at 14-13. Martin County didn’t score another field goal until Hale hit with 45 seconds to go. Lawrence County had a 21-15 lead at the end of one.
Hale scored to start the second quarter and cut Lawrence County’s lead to 21-17. He picked up his second foul at 5:50 and his third at 4:23, forcing Coach James to take him out of the game.
Perry knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs up 26-17, but Linville decided he had enough. The senior knocked down three 3-pointers to lead the Cardinals in the third. Lawrence hung on for a 32-30 lead at the half.
Hale picked up his fourth foul on a loose ball early in the third quarter. With Hale on the bench, Sturgell was good for six points to help the Cards outscore Lawrence 17-13. Martin County had a 47-45 lead at the end of three.
Sophomore Peyton Davis struck with a 3-pointer to start the final frame and stretch the Cardinal lead to 50-45. After Lafferty hit his fourth 3-pointer the score was 52-50 Martin County with 6:31 to go. Duff scored to make it 54-50.
Hale picked up his fifth foul.
Behind four straight by McKenzie the Cardinals went in front 62-54 with 3:52 left in regulation. Lawrence County kept fouling to stop the clock and Martin County kept missing free throws, hitting only 2-for-7 in the frame. The wild sequence ended with Ratliff hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game 64-64 with 39 seconds left.
Martin County held the ball for the last-second shot and fans were on their feet. Sturgell drove the lane with 8 seconds to go, put up a shot and missed, and the official called McKenzie for the foul with 5.2 seconds to go.
Lawrence couldn’t connect on the two free throws. Martin County got the rebound but couldn’t make use of it, sending the game into overtime.
The overtime period was all Martin County. The Cardinals outscored the Bulldogs 16-7, thanks to 10 points by McKenzie and 8-for-10 at the free-throw line.
McKenzie led Martin County with a game-high 29 points, Linville fired in 15, Duff 13, Sturgell nine, Hale eight and Davis six.
Will Lafferty scored 23 points for Lawrence County, Andrew Bloomfield added 17, Logan Ratliff 11, Blake Marcum nine, Hayden Perry eight and Kaden Gillespie two.
With the win, Martin County improved to 23-10 and advanced to the 15th Region championship game.
