BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Cardinals had a busy week defeating Hazard 75-72 at home Feb. 13, Paintsville 69-54 at home Thursday, and dropping an 83-72 decision Saturday Region 10 champion and Sweet 16 runner-up George Rogers Clark in Winchester.
The win over Paintsville wrapped up a 6-0 conference record in the 57th District.
Below is a recap of the action.
MC 75, HHS 72
Martin County battled the Hazard Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the 14th Region, in a barnburner Feb. 13 in Inez. The Cardinals came out as the 75-72 winner when the smoke cleared.
This game saw several lead changes as these two teams slugged it out. The score was tied 15-15 at the end of the first quarter, with senior Luke Hale scoring seven points to lead the Cardinals.
The Bulldogs outscored the Cardinals 33-29 in the second quarter to take a 33-29 lead. Hale scored 11 points to keep the Cards within striking distance.
Martin County trailed 51-45 at the end of the third quarter but rallied in the final period to score 30 points while holding Hazard to 21.
The Cardinals shot 51% from the field and 43% from behind the 3-point line.
Hale scored a game-high 32 points to lead Martin County. Devan Maynard followed with 17 points, Jacob Sturgell added 13, Bryson Dials netted eight, and Brayden McKenzie chipped in five.
Evin Eversole scored 27 points for the Hazard Bulldogs. Seth Caudill followed with 14 points, Nick Ratliff 13, Kenyon Higgins Cannes eight, Dalton Combs six, and Tucker Johnson and Trace Kincaid two.
MC 69, PHS 54
Martin County Cardinals hosted 57th District rival Paintsville at home Thursday and wrapped up a 6-0 conference record by defeating the Tigers 69-54.
The Cardinals got off to a slow start and trailed 17-8 at the end of the first quarter. They fought back with pressure defense and 10 points by Luke Hale in the second period to cut the deficit to 33-29 by halftime.
Martin County trailed 48-46 at the end of the third quarter, but the game intensified in the fourth. Jacob Sturgell drove down the lane for a layup to tie the score for the first time at 48-48. With 6:24 remaining, Bryson Dials hit a deep 3-pointer to give the Cardinals their first lead 51-48.
Dials continued to make an impact, scoring on a layup with 5:03 left to extend the lead to 54-48. Then, with 4:21 remaining, Hale was fouled on a 3-pointer attempt and made all three free throws to give the Cards a 57-50 advantage. From there, the Cardinals never looked back.
Devan Maynard scored 19 points for Martin County to lead all scorers while grabbing nine boards, Hale finished with 16 points, Sturgell added 10, Dials and Brayden McKenzie each added nine, and Blake Maynard netted six.
Brock Woods led Paintsville with 16 points, Anderson Lauffer followed with 12, Jase Kinner added 10, Ethan Woods contributed eight, Ethan Cole netted six, and Parker Helton finished with two.
The two teams will meet again Feb. 27 in the first round of the 57th District Tournament at Martin County High School.
GRC 83, MC 72
Martin County headed out to Winchester for a challenging road matchup Saturday against the 10th Region champion and Sweet 16 runner-up George Rogers Clark, dropping an 83-72 decision.
The Cardinals came out strong behind nine points by senior Brayden McKenzie and held their own. They trailed 18-16 heading into the second quarter.
The winds shifted significantly in the second quarter. George Rogers Clark picked up the pace with their fast break and dominated the boards. The Cardinals trailed 44-28 at halftime.
The Cardinals staged a comeback in the third quarter, outscoring GRC 18-14 to narrow the gap to 58-46. Luke Hale and McKenzie scored eight points apiece to pace Martin County.
Martin County outscored GRC in the fourth quarter 26-25 behind 13 points by Hale, including three 3-pointers, but the effort fell short as time expired.
Hale led Martin County with 27 points, surpassing the 2,000th career points milestone. McKenzie followed with 22 points, Devan Maynard contributed 10, Jacob Sturgell added nine, and Bryson Dials chipped in four.
Malach Ashdon led GRC with 22 points, while Reshaun Hampton amassed 21, JP Gaines 14, Montee Gay 13, Breland Morrison nine and Eli Craig four.
This game moves Martin County to 18-9 and GRC to 26-2.
