BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County high school boys basketball squad went 6-2 to reach the Elite 8 at Western Kentucky University last week.
The Hilltoppers camp featured premiere teams from Kentucky and Indiana and proves that the upcoming season will be one to look forward to.
Martin County finished the 2024 season as the 15th Region runner-up, and the young squad will aim to move mountains again.
Transfer students Parker Watts of Tolsia and Jaxon Estridge of Prestonsburg will help replenish a roster that saw five seniors graduate.
The Cards dominated Apollo in their first game 62-43. They snuck by Southwestern 59-58 on day 1.
The boys rolled past Fairdale 75-51 and Martha Layne Collins 74-59. Henderson County and W.E.B DuBois put up a fight, but Martin County pulled out the wins 47-42 and 51-45, respectively.
Over the span of eight games, junior Devan Maynard led the team with 17 blocks and 57 rebounds. He was third in assists with 18. Maynard hit for 66 points and was 50.9% from two-point play.
Watts did everything right for the Cards. He led the team with 21 threes and 152 points over the course of eight games. The versatile guard handed out 11 assists, 10 blocks and 25 rebounds and led with 15 steals.
Young gun Bryson Dials dished out 35 assists at point and had eight steals. He poured in 72 points shooting a blistering 82.4% inside the arc and pulled down 18 boards.
Brayden Estep had nine steals and assists and pulled down 31 rebounds. At 35.75%, 30 of his 39 points came behind the 3-point line.
Senior guard Peyton Davis filled the stat sheet with 92 points, 20 assists, 25 rebounds and 12 steals. Davis shot a smooth 61.5% from the floor and 37% beyond the arc.
Estridge contributed everywhere on the floor with 18 rebounds and 15 assists. He picked six pockets and scored 30 points for the Cards shooting 70.6% inside the line.
Martin County will continue their summer team building when they travel to Hazard on Wednesday.
You can catch an early glimpse of the team in Inez on June 13 at the high school gymnasium. Games times had not been announced at press time.
The Cards are also scheduled to play at Johnson Central June 19 and 20. They will travel to Marshall the following day.