BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
The Martin County Cardinals came off a 15th Regional All “A” championship and impressive state tournament showing to have their week interrupted by inclement weather and game cancellations. After a week off, the Cardinals dropped two contests to Magoffin County and Poca (WV).
The Cardinals moved to 19-5 on the season
Below is a recap of last week’s action.
Cards fall to Hornets 70-58
SALYERSVILLE — The Martin County Cardinals misfired themselves into a first-half hole and a 70-58 loss to district opponent Magoffin County in a game Friday on the road.
The Cardinals won the tip and had four shots on their first possession to score, but the shots didn’t fall. Martin County went 0-for-5 to start the game.
Dray Duff found Jacob Sturgell on a roll to the basket around the 6:00 mark for Martin County’s first basket. From there, the Cards went ice-cold and were scoreless until under the one-minute mark when Duff drove to the basket and found Blake Maynard for two.
The Cards went 2-for-17 from the field, and Magoffin had a 13-4 lead after the first quarter.
Luke Hale and Brayden McKenzie heated up in the second. Hale knocked down a couple of treys and scored eight points, while McKenzie notched seven points. The Cards had found some offense but had no answer on the defensive end as Magoffin scored 22 points, fueled by Aden Barnett with 11. The Hornets won the quarter 22-15 to take a 35-19 lead at the half.
The Cardinals were 8-for-34 from the field in the first half for 24%.
Behind Duff’s seven points and Hale’s six that included a couple of 3-pointers, Martin County showed some life offensively in the third quarter. The Cardinals scored 17 points and held Magoffin to 12 to get within striking distance, trailing 47-36 going into the final quarter.
Both teams played even in the fourth. Hale tried to bring the Cardinals back. He knocked down three treys and scored 11 points, but the comeback fell short. Magoffin put up 23 points to send the Cards home with the loss.
Coach Jason James’ squad went 3-for-5 from the free-throw line while Magoffin hit 9-of-14.
“We just came very flat. We had four shots on the first possession and didn’t make any of them,” said James. “I think the long layoff hurt us some, along with Knott County canceling on us twice.
“No excuses. Magoffin County has a nice team and was just better than us tonight,” the coach added. “We made a nice run to get back in the game, but when we scored four points in the first quarter and got down 22 points, it was just too much for us to overcome.”
Hale led Martin County with a game-high 25 points, McKenzie dropped 16, Duff finished with nine, Jacob Sturgell netted six and Blake Maynard finished with two.
Zane Whitaker led Magoffin County with 21 points, Aden Barnett finished with 19, Grayson Whitaker dropped 13, Ben Lafferty netted 11 and Ethan Salyer flipped in six.
Cards drop to Poca 65-46
WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — Cold shooting again cost Martin County a 65-46 loss to the Poca (WV) Dots Saturday in the Hatfield-McCoy Shootout at the historic Williamson Memorial Fieldhouse.
The Cardinals got off to a sluggish start and were behind 20-10 at the end of the first quarter. Luke Hale knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Cardinals on the board at the 3:10 mark for their first basket. Martin County only shot 4-for-14 in the first quarter. The Dots knocked down four 3-pointers and Keaton Meeks got loose for 11 points.
The Martin County defense picked up in the second quarter and held the Dots to seven points. However, the Cards went ice cold from the field, hitting 2-for-12 for a 6-point second quarter. Peyton Davis and Jacob Sturgell each scored a basket and Brayden McKenzie knocked down two free throws. The Dots led 27-16 going in at the half.
The Cardinals shot 6-of-28 from the field in the first half for 21%.
Both teams played even in the third quarter, with Poca edging the Cards 16-15. Poca’s Jordan Wolfe scored 14 of the Dots’ 16 points to put his team up 43-31 going into the final quarter.
The fourth was pretty much all free throws. Poca connected on 15-of-19 free throws and outscored the Cardinals 22-15 in the frame. Hale knocked down three treys for 11 of Martin County’s 15 points.
The Cardinals shot the ball much better in the second half, hitting 12-of-27 from the field. For the game, the Cards shot 18-of-53 for 34%. Poca connected on 17-of-22 free throws while the Cardinals went 4-for-7.
Hale led the Cardinals with 21 points, McKenzie was good for 12, Davis contributed five, Sturgell tallied four and Matt Linville and Dray Duff each added two.
Jordan Wolfe led Poca with a game-high 24 points, Meeks dropped 14, Cole Godish netted 13, Kambel Meeks finished with 11, Hunter Toney flipped in two and Garrett Miller finished with one.
The Cardinals will play at home Wednesday (Feb. 8) vs. Johnson Central for a boys/girls doubleheader. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and follows the girls game at 6:30.
