BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

The Martin County Cardinals went 0-3 last week, dropping games to Floyd Central 90-84, Johnson Central 67-62 and Paintsville 68-59.
The Cardinals moved to 19-8 on the season and 3-3 in district play.
With Martin County’s district losses, Magoffin County got the No. 1 seed and the Cardinals moved to No. 2. The Cards will play the 2-3 game against Johnson Central in the district tournament at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Paintsville High School.

“I’m just disappointed,” Martin County head coach Jason James said. “We are going to continue to fight and work extremely hard to get back on track. The good news is everything we want to accomplish is still in front of us. We just have to figure it all out.”
Below is a recap of last week’s action.

Cardinals come up short against Floyd Central

EASTERN — The (19-5) Martin County was coming off a three-game losing streak and looking to get back on track against the (16-7) Floyd Central Jaguars but came up short 90-84 in a road game Feb. 6.

The Cardinals came out a cold 4 for 15 from the field, while Floyd Central started the game 8 for 15 from the field for 53%.
Floyd Central’s Ronnie Sammons went off for 10 first-quarter points, for which the Cardinals had no answer. Martin County’s Brayden McKenzie was good for eight points and Jacob Sturgell added five.

The Jaguars were up 25-13 when the quarter ended.

Dray Duff picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and had to go to the bench. With 5:02 to go in the second quarter, the Cardinals were down 32-17.

The Cardinals got their fast break going with Luke Hale, McKenzie and Peyton Davis and started knocking down shots. Hale scored 13 second-quarter points and McKenzie added eight to close the deficit to 45-41 at halftime.

First-half stats had Martin County going 11 for 12 from the free-throw line for 92%. Floyd Central outrebounded the Cardinals 16-10. However, the Cardinals had two turnovers versus Floyd Central’s seven. McKenzie was good for 16 points. Dylan Boyd gave Floyd Central a big lift in the second quarter, hitting three treys and scoring 11 points.

Floyd Central knocked down five 3-pointers in the third quarter to push the lead to 68-57. The Cardinals had their work cut out heading into the fourth quarter.

The score was 79-71 with 2:56 to go. Martin County rallied for 27 fourth-quarter points behind 15 from Hale and 11 from McKenzie. Floyd Central pulled the ball out the rest of the way, forcing the Cardinals to foul to stop the clock. The Jaguars went 9 for 13 from the free throw line in the fourth to seal the loss for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals showed signs of picking up offensively where they left off from the All “A” Classic but lost the defensive battle giving up 90 points. Floyd Central shot 12 for 24 from the 3-point line for 50%.

The Jaguars won the war on the boards 30-18 over the Cardinals.
Martin County connected on 19 of 21 free throws for 90%, while Floyd Central shot 16 for 20 from the line for 80%.

Hale fired in a game-high 34 points to lead Martin County, McKenzie followed with 33 points, Jacob Sturgell netted nine, Peyton Davis added six and Blake Maynard flipped in two.

Floyd Central had four players in double figures. Sammons led with 24 points, Eric Burke added 19, Brayden Moore dropped 18, Boyd finished with 11 points, Brody Buck and Dawson Moore contributed seven each and Chris Spriggs chipped in four.

Martin County falls to Johnson Central

INEZ — Martin County was coming off a 4-game losing streak and looking to change directions against the Johnson Central Eagles in a game Feb. 8 in Inez. This was a big 57th District matchup for both teams and the Cardinals came away disappointed 67-62.

Martin County took the lead early in the first quarter and was up 13-7 at the 3:44 mark. The Eagles fought back to cut the lead to 13-12 with 2:05 to go in the first. Scoring stayed even and the Cardinals were up 19-18 with 16.5 seconds to go, but Johnson Central’s Rose scored at the horn to put the Eagles up 20-19 after one.

The Cardinals went cold from the 3-point line connecting on 1-8 in the first quarter. The struggle continued in the second quarter as Martin County went 5 for 18 from the field. Johnson Central only scored three field goals in the second quarter but connected on 7 for 7 from the free-throw line to outscore the Cardinals 13-11.

Martin County trailed 33-30 at the half and lost the third quarter 18-14. The Cards pulled within two at the 3:01 mark 41-43, but the Eagles jumped back to take a 51-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals fought back in the fourth quarter to take the lead 58-57 at the 2:35 mark on a drive to the basket by McKenzie. McKenzie drew a foul and hit 1 of 2 free throws to put the Cardinals up by one. This was the first lead for Martin County since early in the first quarter.

Rose drew a foul on the next possession and knocked down both free throws to give the Eagles a 59-58 lead. Rose struck again at the 1:25 mark to put the Eagles up 61-58.

Matt Linville got loose for a bucket at the 1:20 mark to pull the Cardinals within one at 61-60. Another basketball by Rose pushed Johnson Central’s lead to 63-60 with 52 seconds to go. McKenzie knocked down a basket at the 43-second mark to get the Cards within one point 62-63. Johnson Central missed on the next possession, and the Cardinals had the ball down one with 30 seconds to go. Coach James took a timeout at the 17-second mark to call the play.

McKenzie broke open for a layup, but the ball rolled off the rim with 7.7 seconds left in the game. Johnson Central had the ball and the Cardinals were forced to foul. The Eagles connected on both free throws to go up 65-62. With 7.7 to go, Central got a steal on the inbounds pass and scored the final nail.

Matt Linville led Martin County with 14 points, Hale and McKenzie each dropped 12, Dray Duff finished with nine, Jacob Sturgell added eight, Peyton Davis flipped in five, and Blake Maynard chipped in two.

Ryan Rose led the Eagles with 27 points, Slone added 17, Fink dropped 16, Grimm finished with five points and Lawson scored two.

The Cardinals moved to 19-7 and 3-2 in district play.

Martin County edged by Paintsville

PAINTSVILLE — Martin County’s loss streak stretched to six in a 57th District matchup Friday as the Paintsville Tigers edged the Cardinals 68-59 in Paintsville.

The Cardinals had defeated Paintsville twice earlier in the season but came out cold, hitting 4 for 16 from the field for 25%.
Paintsville started in a 1-3-1 zone that slowed the Cardinals down. The Tigers knocked down two treys and were up 10-3 at the 4:26 mark.

Luke Hale scored at the 2:26 mark to cut the lead 11-5, then Peyton Davis got a trey at the 2:11 mark to bring the Cards to within three 11-8. Hale drained a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in the quarter to tie the game 11-11. Paintsville hit two free throws to end the quarter in front 13-11.

The Cardinals shot a much better 7 for 14 from the field and won the second quarter 19-13. Martin County had a 30-16 lead at halftime.

Hale led the Cardinals in the first half. The junior knocked down three treys and amassed 11 points. Peyton Davis finished the half with eight points, including two 3-pointers.

Paintsville heated up in the third quarter with 20 points behind 11 from Colby Fugate. The Tigers switched to a man-to-man defense to slow the Cardinals down offensively and held the Cardinals to 13 points.

Paintsville led 46-43 at the end of three.
Martin County started the final frame with an ice-cold 0-for-5 from the 3-point line. Hale knocked down a 3-pointer at the 4:10 mark for the Cardinals’ first score. Behind 14 points from Fugate and hitting 10 of 13 shots from the free-throw line, the Tigers outscored the Cardinals 58-48 to pull out the win.

Paintsville went 19 for 24 from the free-throw line for the game, while the Cardinals connected on 8 for 13.

Hale led four Cardinals in double figures with 26 points, Jacob Sturgell added 12, Peyton Davis finished with 11 and Dray Duff dropped 10.

Fugate led the Tigers with 26 points, James dropped 14, Cole finished with 11, Woods added nine and Kinner chipped in eight.

The Cardinals’ last week of the regular season includes games against Hazard on the road Monday (Feb. 13) and Pike Central at home Thursday.