The Wayne County Cardinals met host Southwestern, last Friday night at Southwestern High School Gym in the championship game of the 48th District Tournament. The Cards entered with a bye from the regular season and owned a 17-12 mark overall, after ending the regular season with a 71-53 home loss to #3 ranked Lexington Catholic. Southwestern owned a 17-13 record overall and advanced into the matchup with a 48-45 opening round win over McCreary Central on Tuesday night. The teams split during the regular season as the Warriors won in overtime at Wayne County on December 13 69-64 and the Cards repaid the favor on January 31 75-70, at Southwestern.
The contest marked the 59th meeting all time between the rivals with
the Cards holding a 33-25 series advantage and Wayne was looking for
their 31st district title overall and sixth in seven years.
Southwestern led at the end of one period 21-13, led at the half
38-32 and enjoyed a 56-51 edge after three but it was Wayne County
that led when it mattered the most with a 26-20 run to claim a 77-76
district championship win. Senior forward Thomas Spencer scored a
game high 25 points, with 13 of those coming in the decisive fourth
quarter and added 5 rebounds, while logging all 32-minutes. The 6-4
forward was 7 of 13 from the field and 11 of 15 from the free throw
line, while 6-1 senior Reese Sexton kept the Cards in it early,
scoring 14 of his 16 points off the bench in the first half.
Sexton made 5 of 8 from the floor, which included 4 of 5 from 3-
point range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line, as the winners
improved to 18-12 on the season.
"This was a very good win for our basketball team and we had to
battle for 32-minutes. We won twelve or thirteen district titles in
a row at one time and maybe we got spoiled but none of them are ever
easy and this was no different. For four years we've challenged
Thomas to want the basketball and want to be the guy that wants it in
the fourth quarter and man he responded in this game. Just a huge
effort on both ends of the floor and I was really happy for Reese as
well, as he made some huge shots, especially early when we were
struggling. He's a shooter and he shot it really well, plus what a
nice fourth quarter for Chandler Humble. They were laying off him
and we said next time they slag off be behind the 3-point line and
drill it, he did and then hit another big one," said Cards head coach
Rodney Woods.
Humble, a 6-1 senior forward, scored 11 points with 4 rebounds,
connecting on both 3-pointers attempted and 4 of 5 shots overall.
Kameron Gehring finished 6 of 11 from the field and 3 of 4 from the
free throw line to add 15 points with a game high 7 assists, plus
grabbed 3 steals and earned high praise from the veteran head coach.
"I've coached a lot of great players that I really enjoyed but I
don't know if I've ever enjoyed coaching any kid as much as Kameron.
He takes ownership, accepts coaching and criticism, plus he just
plays with such a high motor, so competitive. This team will finish
as the best shooting team we've ever had not only from the field but
also from three, one thing we do pretty well most nights is shoot the
basketball. Happy for our team and our seniors as these guys
continue to work extremely hard and are just great students as well.
Bryson Tucker is another that hit some big threes as well tonight,"
said Woods.
Tucker was 3 of 4 from the field to net 8 points with 2 boards,
while Brody Weaver battled foul-problems to add 2 points, while Mason
Burchett battled thru a scoreless night to grab 5 rebounds, as six
different Cards etched the scoring margin.
Southwestern, which dropped to 17-14, was led by the 18 points and 4
assists of 5-9 guard Cole Dysinger. The senior stalwart was 6 of 18
from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line, while
6-4 senior Brayden Sims posted 15 points and 6 rebounds. Sims was 7
of 9 from the floor and one of two from the free throw line, while
the duo of Hunter Coffey and Andrew Smith both added stat-lines of 8
points with 6 rebounds, as the Warriors enjoyed a 34-22 rebounding
advantage.
"Southwestern is so physical on both ends of the floor and playing
thru their physicality was a big key," said Woods.
Andrew Jones totaled 9 points off the bench, while Tanner McKee
added 8 points, all in the fourth quarter. Chase Eastham and Cameron
Pierce both tallied 5 points each, as eight different Warriors scored
in the matchup.
Six different Southwestern players scored in the first quarter as
the hosts made 10 of 13 field goal attempts and raced to 21-13 edge,
as Wayne stayed close with the 8 points of Kameron Gehring.
Reese Sexton exploded for 14 points in the second period, aided by 4
3-pointers, as the Cards used a 19-17 tilt to close the gap to 38-32
at intermission.
Brayden Sims scored 7 points in the third frame to offset the
balanced attack by Wayne County as the Cards used a 19-18 clip to
close the gap to 56-51 after 24-minutes of play.
The lead changed several times down the stretch, but it was a foul
that sent Thomas Spencer to the free throw line with 1.9 seconds left
that would seal the championship. Spencer connected on the first
free throw and missed the second to give the Cards a 77-76 lead and
then would swat the inbounds pass away, as Southwestern wouldn't
score again and Wayne County claimed the 77-76 win.
The Cards finished 26 of 49 overall from the field for 53 percent
and that included an 8 of 19 clip from 3-point range for 42 percent.
The winners connected on 17 of 25 free throw attempts for 68 percent
and totaled 13 assists with 5 steals against 7 turnovers.
Southwestern countered with 32 of 59 shooting overall for 54 percent
and that included a 5 of 13 mark from 3-point range for 38 percent.
The squad made 7 of 9 free throw attempts for 78 percent and tallied
14 assists with 4 steals against 9 turnovers.
At the conclusion of the tournament Alex Heath, Kyle Stephens of
McCreary Central joined Cole Dysinger, Brayden Sims and Hunter Coffey
of Southwestern and the Wayne County foursome of Kameron Gehring,
Thomas Spencer, Reese Sexton and Chandler Humble on the All-
Tournament team.
Up next for the Cards is a Thursday night 8 p.m. date with Danville,
the runner-up out of the 45th District and 21-12 on the season, in
the 12th Region Tournament at Pulaski County High School Gym.
Details on all the action will appear in next week's edition of The Outlook.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.