BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Martin County Cardinals Coach Jason James and company went 3-0 this week to move their record to 17-2 heading into the All “A” State tournament Thursday.
The Cardinals are on a hot 15-win streak, with their last loss being Dec. 6 vs. Breathitt County 50-47.
Martin County’s victims this week were East Ridge 84-64, Betsy Layne 74-69 and Belfry 86-63.
Below is a recap of the action.
Cards hammer East Ridge again
PIKE COUNTY — Four players scored in double digits while Luke Hale and Jacob Sturgell recorded double-doubles to help Martin County hammer East Ridge 84-64 on the road Jan. 17.
The Cardinals had just defeated East Ridge 97-69 in the All “A” Classic and were looking for their 13th straight win.
The Cardinals were without the services of their point guard Dray Duff, who sat the game out to rest his legs after suffering severe leg cramps in the All “A” Classic. So next one up, Peyton Davis got the call to start against East Ridge.
Martin County got off to a fast start jumping on the Warriors 26-12 at the end of one.
The Warriors had no answer defensively as six different Cardinals got in the books in the first quarter.
The Cardinals caught fire in the second quarter from the 3-point line knocking down five 3-pointers and going up on the Warriors 48-29 at the half.
The third quarter belonged to the Cardinals 23-13, and they were up 71-42 going into the final quarter.
The Cardinals lost the fourth quarter 22-13, but the game was already in the books.
Hale fired in 25 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead Martin County. The junior shot 11-of-17 from the field for 68%. Brayden McKenzie dropped 16 points, Jacob Sturgell fired in 13 points and 11 boards, and Peyton David netted 10 points. Blake Maynard finished with eight points and five rebounds, Matt Linville added eight points and eight rebounds, and Ethan Ferrell and Bryson Dials each added two points.
East Ridge came in at 8 and 9 on the season. Jackson Keene led the Warriors with 21 points, Brad Howell netted 15 points, Gunner Ward added 11, Keaton Puckett flipped in five, Carter Damron and Zack Mason contributed four points each, and Brady Kendrick and Isaiah Adkins chipped in two apiece.
The Cardinals shot 33-for-72 from the field for 46% and 11-for-26 from the 3-point line for 42%. They grabbed 42 rebounds and went 7-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Cards narrowly escape Bobcats
FLOYD COUNTY — The Martin County Cardinals (15-2) battled against the (11-5) Betsy Layne Bobcats and narrowly escaped 74-69 for their 14th straight win.
Betsy Layne started from the tip with a chaser on Luke Hale.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 9-0 run with Hale and Brayden McKenzie draining back-to-back 3-pointers. Dray Duff got the old-fashioned three-point play on a putback and a free throw. Hale picked up his first foul with 6:16 to go in the first quarter.
Betsy Layne got on the board with their first bucket at the 5:30 mark.
With 2:19 to go in the first quarter Hale and Pente were called for a double foul. Hale picked up his second foul, which sent him to the bench for the rest of the quarter.
Duff knocked down a 3-pointer with 57 seconds to put the Cardinals up 17-9. Betsy Layne fought back to cut the lead to 17-13 after one.
Peyton Davis went off for four 3-pointers in the second quarter for 12 of his 19 points. Hale picked up his third foul at the 4:04 mark and went to the bench again.
Betsy Layne took the lead 30-29 with 2:36 to go in the quarter. Martin County fought to go in front 35-32 at the half.
The Cardinals hit eight treys in the first half. Betsy Layne outscored the Cardinals in the second quarter 19-18.
Right out of the gate at the 7:10 mark, Betsy Layne knocked down a three to tie it up to start the third quarter. This was the first tie of the game. The teams played even in the third 19-19, and the quarter ended with the Cards in front 54-51.
The fourth quarter turned into a free throw contest for both teams as Martin County shot 18 free throws, connecting on 14. Betsy Layne shot 9-for-13 from the line, all in the fourth.
The score was 56-54 with 6:11 to go in the game, and Brayden McKenzie knocked down a 3-pointer and a deuce for five straight points to push the lead out to 61-54. The Cardinals were up 63-58 with 2:03 to go. The next two minutes turned into a free-throw contest with Duff and Sturgell while Hale picked up his fifth foul at the 1:52 mark.
As the saying goes, “free throws win games.” Duff went 6-of-8 from the charity line in the fourth quarter and 9-of-11 for the game. Sturgell went 7-of-8 from the line in the fourth quarter and 11-of-14 for the game.
Coach Jason James’ Cardinals hung tough to pull out the win.
“It wasn’t our best effort, but we were able to pull it out,” James said. “We played most of the game without Luke because of foul trouble and that made it tough on us. Other guys stepped up and we were able to get out of there with the win. That was the main thing.”
Leading the way for the Cardinals, Davis scored 19 points. The sophomore drained five 3-pointers shooting 5-of-8 from the 3-point line. Davis finished 7-of-10 from the field for 70%. Four of his three-point shots were in the second quarter.
Sturgell had another double-double with 18 points and 10 boards. He went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and 11-for-14 from the line for the game.
Duff added 16 points, 9-of-11 coming from the free throw line. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
McKenzie fired in 14 points and five boards, Hale scored five points and three boards, and Matt Linville added two points and 10 rebounds.
Andrew Kidd led Betsy Layne with 23 points, Pente netted 18 points, Tackett added 14, Parsons flipped in seven, Allen finished with three and Howell and Music each scored two.
Both teams went 20-for-27 from the free-throw line. The Cardinals connected on 10-of-26 3-pointers.
Cardinals sink Pirates
INEZ — Martin County sank the visiting Belfry Pirates 86-53 Saturday for the Cardinals 15th straight win.
The Cardinals improved to 17-2.
Luke Hale and Brayden McKenzie went to work. Each dropped 32 points to combine for 64 of Martin County’s 86 points.
The Cardinals came out firing and knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half. The score at the end of one was 19-14.
Hale caught fire and scored 14 of his 32 points in the second quarter. McKenzie added nine, and the Cardinals ended the half on top 47-35.
The Pirates hung around to stay within striking distance in the third and trailed by six going into the fourth quarter 65-59. Belfry won the third quarter 19-18.
Belfry finally ran out of steam in the fourth and the Cardinals delivered the knockout punch outscoring the Pirates 21-9.
Hale and McKenzie fired in 32 points each. Davis and Devon Maynard each dropped in five, Blake Maynard and Dray Duff netted 4 four each, and Jacob Sturgill and Matt Linville each finished with two. B. Maynard finished with 10 rebounds to lead the Cardinals.
Banks led Belfry with 26 points, Erwin scored 14, Daniels dropped in eight, Chase Varney added seven, Cayden Varney chipped in five and Brown flipped in three.
The Cardinals shot 35-of-77 from the field for 47%. They finished with 42 rebounds and went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line.
The Cardinals (17-2) will travel to the campus of EKU for their first-ever game in the All “A” State Tournament. Game time is 10 a.m. vs. (18-2) Harlan Green Dragons.
