BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
SALYERSVILLE — Martin County took the sting out of Magoffin County 76-72 in front of a packed house Jan. 30 at Magoffin County.
The Cardinals led from start to finish despite a furious comeback from the Hornets.
The pace was fast and furious. Martin County jumped out to an early 16-7 lead forcing Magoffin County to call a timeout about halfway through the first quarter.
The Cardinals defense held Magoffin County star player Aden Barnett in check, allowing him only two field goals in the first quarter. Brayden McKenzie picked Barnett’s pocket to put the Cards up 18-7 with 2:26 remaining in the period.
Barnett scored his first field goal with 1:16 showing on the clock to cut the deficit to 19-11. Peyton Davis answered with a deep trey to boost the Martin County lead to 22-11. Barnett followed with a basket to make it 22-13.
Magoffin County rallied in the second quarter to outscore the Cardinals 22-18 behind 14 points by Barnett. Martin County was on top 40-34 at halftime. Luke Hale led Martin County’s first-half scoring with 14.
The Cardinals came out in a 2-3 zone defense in the third quarter to counter Barnett’s impact. Hale’s fourth 3-pointer at the 6-minute mark stretched the Martin County lead to 45-38. Magoffin County’s Grayson Whitaker responded with a 3 to narrow the gap to 45-41 with 5:01 left in the period.
Martin County coach Jason James called a timeout and the Cardinals switched their defense back to man-to-man. Magoffin County orchestrated a 19-7 run, closing the gap 47-45 by the 3:18 mark in the third quarter. Zane Whitaker picked up his fourth foul at 2:20 and had to take a seat on the Hornets bench.
Davis drove the lane for two to widen the lead to 54-47. Barnett fought back with two baskets to close the Magoffin County deficit to 54-52. Eighth-grader Bryson Dials was fouled with 4.3 seconds to go in the third. The eighth grader sank both free throws to finish the quarter 58-52 Martin County.
Hale struck 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to widen the lead to 60-52. Martin County came out in a half-court trap to contain Barnett. At 5:41, Hale knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the game. The Cardinals had a 67-59 advantage.
Barnett brought the house down with a dunk that put Magoffin within reach at 69-64 with 4:16 left in the game. Barnett continued chipping away at the Martin County lead and narrowed it to 71-69 with 3:08 left. Dials hit a free throw to make it 72-69 at the 2:03 mark. Barnett persisted to make it a one-point gap at 72-71.
Devan Maynard came up big with a tip-in basket off a missed shot at 1:32 to put the Cards up 74-71. With 44 seconds left and a 74-72 lead, the Cardinals got the rebound after Barnett missed a shot.
Coach James called a timeout with 17.5 seconds left.
Magoffin was forced to foul Hale, who sank both free throws, to seal the victory and keep the Cardinals undefeated 3-0 in conference play.
Five Cardinals scored double figures: Hale tallied 26 points, McKenzie 14, Sturgell 13, and Davis and Maynard 10 each. Rounding out the Martin County scoring, Dials contributed three points.
Hale hit 5 of 5 from 3-point land for 100%.
The Cardinals shot 48.1% from the field, 57.1% from the 3-point line, and 72.7% from the free-throw line.
Sturgell grabbed 11 boards to go with his 13 points for a double-double. McKenzie recorded eight rebounds and D. Maynard had five.
Score by Quarters:
Mar: 22 18 18 18 – 76
Mag: 13 21 18 20 – 72
Scoring:
Martin County (76) – Luke Hale 7 7- 5 7-26; Brayden McKenzie 7 2-1 4-14; Jacob Sturgell 3 2-4 4-13; Devin Maynard 2 2-4 2-10; Peyton Davis 3 5-2 0-10; Bryson Dials 0 0-2 1-3; Totals: 22 18-18 18-76
Magoffin County (72) – Aden Barnett 6 14-11 14-45; Zane Whitaker 1 5-2 2- 10; Ethan Salyer 4 0-0-2- 6; Russell Whitaker 2 2-0 2-6; Grayson Whitaker 0 0-5 0-5; Totals: 13 21-18 21- 72