Cardinals slay Harlan, fall to Evangel Christian
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
RICHMOND — Dreams do come true. The Martin County Cardinals survived and advanced to Elite 8 play in the All “A” State tournament, slaying the Harlan Green Dragons in the first round Thursday before falling to eventual tournament champion Evangel Christian Friday.
This was 15th Region All “A” champion Martin County’s first-ever appearance in the All “A” state tournament played at McBrayer Arena, Eastern Kentucky University.
“It’s every kid’s dream that plays basketball in the state of Kentucky to play in a state tournament,” Martin County Coach Jason James said. “To win makes it even sweeter.”
Below is a recap of the tournament action.
Cardinals come back to slay Harlan Green Dragons
Martin County (18-2) slayed the Harlan Green Dragons (19-2) 50-49 in the first round of the All “A” State Tournament Thursday.
Everyone in Martin County growing up has heard the stories of the Inez Indians winning the Sweet 16 state championships in 1941 and 1954 and the Sheldon Clark Cardinals making it to the Sweet 16 in 1983 and winning the first-round game.
This marked the second state tournament berth for the Martin County High School Boys Basketball program in just four years. The Cardinals won the 15th Region to advance to the Sweet 16 in 2020 only to have the country shut down by COVID and the Sweet 16 state tournament canceled.
After 40 years with no appearance in a state basketball tournament arena, Martin County High School players, coaches and fans experienced their first-ever All “A” Boys State Basketball Tournament and won the first-round game.
Not many gave the Cardinals a chance of beating the Harlan Green Dragons in the first round. The Dragons’ record coming into All “A” State was 19-2. However, someone forgot to tell the Cardinals, who were on a 16-game win streak with an 18-2 record.
Not many people were left in Martin County Thursday morning as fans had made the Richmond trip. The atmosphere inside the arena was electric with the Cardinal cheering section filling up and a buzz in the air. Something big was about to happen.
Harlan got the tip and struck first with a deep 3-pointer to go up 3-0. Dray Duff answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Both teams were off and running. Harlan kept taking deep 3-pointers, missing, but crashing the boards hard for the putbacks. Harlan knocked down a 3-pointer with 35 seconds to go to cut the Martin County lead to 13-12 in the first. The Cardinals held for a last-second shot but missed.
Harlan hit a basket to start the second quarter and went in front 14-13. The Green Dragons struck again on a fast break to go up 16-13, prompting Coach James to call a quick timeout to regroup.
Blake Maynard scored on an out-of-bounds play to cut the lead to 16-15. Brayden McKenzie tied it up 22-22 on a free throw at the 4:33 mark, and Maynard scored again to put the Cards up 24-22 with 3:52 remaining in the quarter. Harlan got a dunk with 1:08 to go up 28-24. The Cardinals hit a free throw to cut the lead to 28-25. Then Matt Linville got loose for a basket to bring the Cards within one 28-27. Harlan scored on a putback to go up 30-27 at the half.
The Cardinals got off to a slow start in the third and Harlan started with a dunk to go ahead 32-27. With 6:56 to go in the third, Harlan took the biggest lead of the game going up 34-27. The Cards fought back to narrow it to 33-31 with 2:45 left in the third. Harlan knocked down a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 37-31, and Coach James called a timeout.
Harlan scored again to go up 39-31 with 1:11 remaining in the quarter. Linville knocked down a 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining to cut Harlan’s lead to 39-34. Luke Hale drove in with 5.5 seconds to go, missed and got a putback and a foul. The junior made the free throw to cut the lead to 39-37 at the end of the three.
Dray Duff drove the lane for a layup to start the fourth quarter and tie the score 39-39. McKenzie scored a layup off a pass from Hale with 7:00 showing on the clock to give the Cards their first lead in the second half 41-39. Duff drove the lane and hit the layup at the 6:06 mark to make it 43-39.
Fans were on their feet as the Cardinals were on a 12-0 comeback run before Harlan knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 43-42. McKenzie got a breakaway at the 4:05 mark to put the Cards up 45-42. Harlan took the lead back at the 3:00 mark 46-45.
Duff found McKenzie on a fast break with 2:52 remaining, and McKenzie laid it in and was fouled. McKenzie knocked down the free throw to put the Cardinals back up 48-46.
Harlan got loose under the basket, but Linville rejected the shot with just 55 seconds remaining on the clock to give the Cards the ball back. Martin County was up by one when Duff was fouled with 38 seconds remaining. Duff went to the line and knocked down both free throws to put the Cards up 50-47. Harlan scored with 16.9 seconds to go to make it 50-49.
Harlan got the ball back on a missed free throw and called a timeout with 7.7 seconds left in the game. The Green Dragons got off a last-second shot that missed. Sturgell grabbed the rebound and held on as the horn sounded and the Cardinals survived and advanced.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” said Coach James. “It was a back-and-forth game most of the way. Our guys stuck together when things got tough and outplayed them down the stretch. We knew rebounding was going to be an issue, but Sturgell came up with a huge one to seal the game at the end. A lot of kids stepped up to make big plays.”
The Cardinals shot 19-of-44 for 43% from the field. Harlan hit 5-of-37 three-pointers for 13.5% from the 3-point line. The Dragons outrebounded the Cards 47-28. The Cardinals had 12 turnovers, while Harlan had 16.
Duff led the Cardinals going 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line for 15 points. Duff also had five assists and four steals. Hale followed with 11 points and four boards. McKenzie dropped eight points and had four boards. Linville went 3-of-4 for seven points, six rebounds and four blocks. Sturgell and Maynard each finished with four points.
Will Austin led all scorers with 16 points for Harlan, Jae dyn Gist dropped 14 points, Kyler McLendon scored 13 and Kaleb McLendon finished with four.
The Cardinals advanced to the second round Friday against Evangel Christian.
Martin County falls to Evangel Christian
Martin County faced a huge task in the second round of the All “A” State Tournament. The (19-2) Cardinals went up against (17-2) Evangel Christian and fell 86-55 Friday.
Playing without the services of key player Brayden McKenzie, Martin County battled a very athletic team in Evangel Christian. McKenzie, who spent most of the day in the emergency room getting fluids after coming down with a virus, tried to go but was not physically able.
The Eagles jumped out quickly on the Cardinals holding them to just nine points in the first quarter. The Cardinals came out cold, going 4-of-19 from the field for 21%. The Eagles took advantage shooting 9-of-17 for 54% to take a 26-9 lead at the end of one.
The Cards could never overcome that deficit.
Martin County struggled with Evangel’s size and athleticism but adjusted in the second quarter and shot the ball much better. The Cardinals were 5-of-10 from the field and knocked down 4-of-7 from the 3-point line. The Eagles never let up offensively, outscoring the Cardinals 21-17 to take a 47-26 lead at the half.
Martin County fought back behind three treys by Peyton Davis in the third, outscoring Evangel 20-19, but the Eagles were up by 20 points 66-46 at the end of three.
The Cardinals went cold again in the fourth, hitting 3-of-17 from the field for 17%. Evangel took advantage with another 20-point quarter.
The Cardinals shot 19-of-59 from the field for 32%, while Evangel shot 34-of-59 for 58%. Evangel had 38 rebounds and the Cards had 37.
“Thanks to everyone that came out and supported these guys this weekend. You have no idea how much it means to them,” Martin County Coach Jason James said. “First ever All “A” regional title and then first ever All “A” Elite 8 appearance is something they should never forget. The good news is our season is not over. We will be back in action at home Wednesday.”
Luke Hale led the Cardinals with 17 points and seven boards. Jacob Sturgell followed with 12 points and five boards, Davis dropped in nine points, Dray Duff added eight points and five assists, Blake Maynard chipped in three points, Linville scored two points and grabbed 10 boards, and Bryson Dials and Ethan Ferrell contributed two points each.
Evangel Christian had four players in double figures. Christian Doerr had 31, Kyran Tilley dropped in 26, Cyr Malonga added 11, Gianni Davis finished with 10 points, Johnny Djema scored four, and Ben Mukadi and Isaiah Chitapa each chipped in two.
Martin County will play at home Wednesday (Feb. 1) against Knott County Central.
