BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PIKEVILLE — Martin County shot down Pikeville 73-62 in the 15th Region semifinals Friday at Appalachian Wireless Arena.
The arena was hopping with excited fans cheering on their teams.
Both teams started with tight man-to-man defense. Pikeville jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the first minutes of the game. Despite a slow start, the Cardinals rallied behind baskets by Luke Hale, Jacob Sturgell and Devan Maynard, narrowing the deficit to 15-11 by the end of the first quarter.
Hale ignited the Cardinals in the second quarter with a 3-pointer to cut Pikeville’s lead to 15-14. Sturgell followed suit, sinking a 3-pointer at the 7:16 mark to give Martin County its first lead of the game.
Brayden McKenzie extended the Martin County advantage to 19-15 with a put-back off an offensive rebound. Maynard knocked the bottom out of a 3-pointer to lift the Cardinals to their biggest lead of the night 22-17. Peyton Davis joined the spree, draining a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 24-20 with 3:44 remaining in the second quarter.
Pikeville fought back behind three treys by Cole Slone to regain the lead 33-27 by halftime.
With the score standing 37-36 in favor of Pikeville, the momentum took a sharp turn in the third quarter. The Cardinals switched up their defense at the 4:41 mark, going to a 1-2-2 half-court trap, rattling Pikeville and leading the Panthers to commit four consecutive turnovers.
Martin County went on a 13-0 blitz that ended with a 46-37 lead before the Panthers managed to score again at the 1:32 mark. Pikeville’s last field goal in the period came at the 5:13 mark. As the third quarter drew to a close, the Cardinals held a commanding 48-39 lead fueled by 15 points by Hale.
Sturgell opened the fourth quarter with a basket to push the Martin County lead to 50-39. Pikeville rallied, switching to a half-court trap, to trim the deficit to 61-57 with just 1:45 remaining in the game.
Despite Pikeville’s late surge with time running out, the Cardinals held on to survive and advance for the second straight year to the 15th Region championship game.
“Pikeville is an incredible team,” Martin County coach Jason James said. “I thought if we played well, we could beat them.”
Reflecting on the first half, James acknowledged missed opportunities.
“In the first half, we left some points out there. We got up four, made some mistakes, and they closed the half up by six.”
The coach praised his team’s performance.
“I told my guys if we could win the rebounding battle, we would win the game,” he said.
“My guys played great. They have the heart of a champion, and you can never count them out. They always find a way to win.”
Hale scored 29 points to lead Martin County. Sturgell finished with 17 points, including three treys. McKenzie contributed nine points to the effort, and Peyton Davis and Devan Maynard each added five.
Eli Johnson led Pikeville with 16 points. Carter Hurley scored 13 points, Cole Slone dropped 12, Charlie Frizer eight, Ian Onkst and Heath Jarrell chipped in four each.
The Cardinals shot 20 of 46 for 44% and held Pikeville to 21 of 55 for 38%. Pikeville shot 7 of 27 in the second half for 26%. The Cardinals won the battle of the board by two. Martin County blistered the nets for 11 of 20 from the 3-point line.
The Cardinals advance to the championship game Monday at 7 p.m. against Magoffin County.
“I ask for one more win,” said Coach James. “This is not the one we wanted. The one we want is Monday night. We’re expected to be here.”
