BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County came up a possession short on the scoreboard Friday, falling to Johnson Central 79-76 at home. Still, the Cardinals walked out of the gym with the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s 57th District Tournament.
Martin County had beaten Johnson Central by four earlier this season. The Cardinals of Coach Jason “JJ” James entered Friday’s game needing to avoid losing by more than three to lock up the top seed. A four-point defeat would have created a tie, while five or more would have dropped Martin County to the No. 2 seed and a first round with Paintsville.
Down seven with just 32 seconds remaining, the Cardinals turned the final half-minute into a frantic, pressure-packed scramble.
Bryson Dials raced end-to-end to cut the deficit to five with 24 seconds left. Brayden Marcum, a pest in the backcourt all night, cranked up full-court pressure and forced a turnover with 18 seconds on the clock.
Braxton Keathley followed by dancing into the lane and floating in a runner at the rim to pull Martin County within three with 9.7 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals still had a shot to steal the game outright.
Eli Mills came up with a key defensive play in the closing seconds, sneaking in to deflect the ball and spark one last chance. The loose ball found Dials beyond the arc for a look at overtime, but his 3-pointer rattled out.
Keathley carried the scoring load with 44 points on 17-of-27 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. He added six rebounds and four assists.
Devan Maynard followed with 16 points, burying four 3-pointers. He grabbed six rebounds and added two assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
Dials, who received his 1,000-point ball before the game, finished with 10 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Marcum added five steals to go with three rebounds and three assists. Mills totaled three points with a rebound and a steal, and Alan Moore pulled down two rebounds.
Martin County will open the 57th District Tournament against fourth-seeded Magoffin County on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at host Johnson Central High School. The district championship game is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26.