BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County Cardinals clinched an 85-78 win against 57th District rival Johnson Central Eagles in a high-octane encounter Friday at the Cardinals’ home ground in Inez.
A large crowd gathered to watch these two teams battle for the first time this season.
From the opening quarter, it was clear the game would be a nail-biter.
Shining for the Cardinals, Luke Hale initiated the scoring with a deep 3-pointer at the 7:30 mark. The Eagles, not to be overshadowed, quickly responded, but Martin County kept the pressure with Brayden McKenzie’s two-hand dunk.
The score was tied several times as the competition between these two teams was intense. Johnson Central narrowed the gap to 5-4, but Hale’s second 3-pointer kept Martin County ahead. Johnson Central kept pace, keeping the score close at 8-6. Devan Maynard’s score for the Cardinals was countered by Johnson Central, tying the game at 10-10. The Cardinals regained the lead with Jacob Sturgell’s assist to Hale for a layup, but the Eagles’ free throws tied it at 12-12. Johnson Central’s free throws neutralized Bryson Dials’ offensive putback, tying the game at 14-14. Johnson Central briefly led 16-14, but McKenzie’s dunk for Martin County tied the game at 16-16 as the quarter ended.
Martin County showed strategic brilliance in the second quarter with a 1-2-2 half-court trap, causing turnovers and disrupting the Eagles’ rhythm. The Cardinals went up by as many as 18 on their way to a 34-point quarter and a 50-34 lead at halftime behind the hot-handed shooting of Hale and Dials, each with 13 points.
Hale continued his impressive performance in the third quarter, scoring another 13 points, while Austin Slone of the Eagles kept hope alive for his team with three critical 3-pointers. Despite the Eagles’ efforts, the Cardinals had a 72-58 lead entering the final quarter.
Johnson Central mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, narrowing the gap to 74-66 and forcing Martin County coach Jason James to call a timeout with 6 minutes to go.
Johnson Central scored with 5:15 on the clock to make it 74-68.
McKenzie was hit with a controversial charge call with 53 seconds remaining in the game. The Cards got hit with another foul on the next play to send Central to the free-throw line with 46.7 seconds to go. The Eagles connected on the first free throw and missed the second but got the rebound and the putback to cut the lead to 80-77.
McKenzie scored at the 25-second mark and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, and Sturgell was called for a foul on the rebound. Central knocked down one free throw to cut the Martin County lead to 82-78 with 25 seconds to go.
That was as close as the Eagles would get as the Cards held on for the win.
Coach James praised his team’s offensive improvements and acknowledged the need for stronger defensive play.
“We played a great first and a solid third quarter,” James said. “I would like to have put them away when we had the chance, but we just couldn’t string together enough consecutive stops in a row. To give them credit, they never quit and just kept coming.”
The coach added, “We have been working on some stuff this week, and I saw a lot of improvements on offense. We just have to keep improving defensively and going forward.”
Hale led the scoring for Martin County with 33 points. McKenzie followed with 22 points and Dials fired in 15. Rounding out the scoring column, Sturgell and Davis each added six points, while Devan Maynard scored three.
For Johnson Central, Austin Slone led with 29 points, Brayden Shephard and Kyle Rose each finished with 18, Dawson Montgomery chipped in seven, Andrew Meeks scored five, and Jacob Breeding added one.
