Martin County tops Tug Valley in showdown
BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Organizers deemed the annual Zip Zone Express Tip Off Classic a success Saturday at Martin County High School. The showcase brought some of the best talent from the region to Inez. Sponsor Zip Zone announced the event broke a record by raising over $20,000 for MCHS student-athletes.
The day started with a buzzer-beater from Shelby Valley’s Caden Johnson as time expired to take down Chapmanville 66-65.
16th Region champ Ashland pulled away from Austin Sperry and Breathitt County behind a huge performance from Liberty University signee Zander Carter. The Tomcats left with an 81-60 win.
Hazard took on the 9th Region champion Newport in the 1:35 p.m. slot. The 54th District champion fell to Newport in a close one 57-50.
Adair County escaped Boyd County in a shootout 83-78.
University of Kentucky Wildcats Trent Noah and Travis Perry were in the house for a 2024 State championship rematch between their alma maters Harlan and Lyon counties. In a back-and-forth matchup, Lyon prevailed once again 79-71.
George Washington from Charleston, West Virginia, handed Johnson Central a 78-44 loss in the following game.
The Lady Cards defeated Tug Valley 58-42 in a game that was tough for the girls to play. (See Martin County and Tug Valley girls remember Kennadi Mollett.)
The final game of Saturday’s Zip Zone Express Tip-Off Classic delivered an electrifying showdown between Martin County and Tug Valley, the reigning West Virginia Single-A State champions. In a high-scoring and intense matchup that had more of an end-of-season atmosphere than a preseason scrimmage, Martin County emerged victorious with a hard-fought 97-93 triumph.
Before the toss-up, former Cardinal standout Brayden McKenzie was presented with his 1000th point ball after joining the club in his senior season.
“Tug Valley is such a good basketball team. Those kids have been playing together for a long time. They came out ready to play. We had them down 15 at one time, and we just didn’t do a good job at putting them away. They had a nice little run to come back. I expected a close game,” Coach Jason James said after the 97-93 Cardinal win over the Panthers.
James commented on the event that he worked on putting together along with the Zip Zone team.
“It went awesome. I thought we had huge crowds. It looked like a regional tournament game,” said James. “For a scrimmage, that’s pretty good. Huge thanks to Zip Zone. They put this on every year. They allow our kids to go places they would have never been able to go.”
Martin County was ahead 56-43 at halftime. Tug battled back on a 9-0 run to pull within four with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
In his fifth Zip Zone Classic, Peyton Davis fired in 25 points in what he calls one of his favorite games of the year. “We handled some adversity today,” he told the Mountain Citizen after the game. “We kept hitting shots and stepped up our defense at the end.”
The Cards put on a full-court press and pushed their lead back out to 66-54 in the third quarter. Tug Valley opened the final quarter on another run to pull within five. An Eli Mills 3-pointer put the Cards back up eight points.
Valley’s Braydun Ferris wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
“For us to have some of our starters out tonight, I think we shocked some people. I think when we get the football guys back we’re going to be perfectly fine,” Ferris said.
The crafty guard put up a staggering 31 points for the Panthers.
“We played well, shot the ball well. We slowed down the game a little towards the end and set up our pace. We started shutting down their key players and that helped us stay in it.”
Ferris said he is “looking forward to another state championship this year” across the Tug.
Bryson Dials was 8-10 from the free-throw line in the final minutes to hold off the Panthers.
“We needed those. It was crucial down the stretch. They were on a run. I just had to hit them,” Dials said.
He hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 34 points.
“It’s the biggest atmosphere and biggest game to play in the preseason. Coming in here to play in front of a district crowd. Not a lot of people get to do that,” said Dials. “I keep my head on straight and it’s about having a good attitude. I can’t wait to get down to Florida this month and just keep playing ball.”
Parker Watts scorched the nets with 28 points for the Cardinals. Mills finished with six points. Devan Maynard added four points.
Carson Newsome was 9-11 from the line and finished with 21 points for the Panthers.
Kaden Hale bucketed 18 points in the high-scoring affair. Ethan Ferrell had an outstanding performance with 17 points. Jace Hale added six points for Valley.
Coach James opened the regular season last night (Tuesday) at home versus Huntington Prep. Stats were not available at press time.
“Offensively, I think we’re pretty good. We have the ability to put a lot of points on the board. We just need to buy into our defense. That’s the key for us.”
His Cards will face Pike Central on Thursday in Inez at 7:30 p.m. They will play in the D.J. Begley Classic in Hazard on Saturday against Perry Central at 2:45 p.m.