Monticello — The Wayne County Cardinals hosted Lincoln County on Tuesday, December 8.

Wayne County entered the game with a perfect 3-0 record, including a

10-point win the evening before against the Australian team. The Patriots

came into this contest with a 1-1 record.

This marked the 42nd meeting between the two schools. Lincoln Count

leads the series with a 22-20 record. The last time the two teams played was

December 9, 2008, when Lincoln County won 58-37.

Last Tuesday night, the Patriots caused the Cards quite a few problems

and ended up handing them a 74-64 loss.

"Lincoln out coached and out played us," said Wayne County Coach Rodney

Woods. "I did not have us ready to play and so I will take the blame for

this loss and go back to work and try harder."

The Cardinals trailed 19-15 at the end of the first quarter, but then

outscored the Patriots in the second stanza to hold a 41-37 advantage at the

half. Lincoln County seesawed back into the lead 53-52 by the end of the

third quarter and then put the game away in the final eight minutes.

The Cards got a lot of offense from junior forward Gavin Dunagan who

finished with 32 points. Dunagan was 9 of 12 from the field and hit 11 of 14

from the charity stripe. He also led the Cards on the boards with 11.

Ryan Hopper added 9 points, while Kyle Hopper finished with 7 points.

Kyle Hopper led Wayne County in assists with 5 and in steals with 2.

Austin Shearer, who finished with 6 points, led Wayne County in blocked

shots with 2.

Wayne County hit 22 of 51 from the field for 43 percent. They were 5 of

17 from behind the arc for 29 percent. From the charity stripe, the Cards

were 15 of 20 for 75 percent.

Lincoln County was led by Colby Long with 21 points. Matt Cooper scored

21 for the Patriots.

Lincoln County hit 26 of 47 from the field for 55 percent. The Patriots

were 7 of 16 on 3-pointers for 43 percent. From the charity stripe, the

visitors were 15 of 23 from 65 percent.

Wayne County won the battle on the boards 33-25. The Cards committed 17

turnovers in this game compared to only 12 for Lincoln County.

The Cards dropped to 3-1 on the season, while Lincoln County improved to

2-1. Next up for Wayne County was a road game at Southwestern on Thursday

night. See a story in this edition for details.