The Wayne County Cardinals met rival Somerset, last Tuesday night at the Rodney C. Woods Gymnasium, as two of the top teams in the 12th Region. Wayne County entered with a 17-9 record, riding a season high five-game winning streak that included a 61-52 home district win over McCreary Central, in their last outing. Somerset owned an impressive 19-4 mark and was coming off a 62-55 home loss to North Laurel in their previous contest, a week earlier. The contest marked the 91st meeting between the two schools and Wayne County enjoyed a 56-34 series advantage, coming off a sweep last season that included a 59-52 win on February 26, in the opening round of the 12th Region Tournament, at Lincoln County High School Gym.
Kade Grundy, a 6-2 200 lbs. junior guard, scored 5 of his game high
27 points in the overtime periods, as Somerset trailed most of the
night but managed to rally for a 68-64 double-overtime win. The
stalwart was 10 of 25 from the floor, which included 6 of 15 from 3-
point range and made one of two free throws, while totaling 8
rebounds. Junior Dylan Burton connected on 6 of 15 from the floor
and a perfect 7 of 7 from the free throw line to net 20 points with 7
rebounds, as the winners improved to 20-4 on the season.
"Another game that we had our chances with a double-digit lead in
the second half and just didn't make the plays down the stretch.
Somerset made free throws late and we missed four of six, so I
basically told our guys the same thing. It seems like we've had
several games that we've not made winning plays down the stretch to
seal the deal. Up twelve late in the third quarter, maybe we get a
couple stops there and push the lead on out, it's frustrating," said
Cards head coach Rodney Woods.
Kaiya Sheron, a 6-4 190 lbs. junior forward, finished 6 of 10 from
the field and 3 of 3 from the free throw line to add 15 points with 8
boards, while Jackson Cooper totaled 5 points and 3 rebounds, as the
Jumpers were playing shorthanded with two players out with illness.
Sophomore Jack Harmon made the most of the surprise start with 1
point and a game high 9 rebounds, as Somerset claimed a 35-25 rebound
advantage.
"We gave up 16 offensive rebounds with 12 of those in the second
half. Somerset has a very good basketball team, so we were able to
do some really good things for almost three quarters. We just have
to put 32-minutes together with all five guys on the court playing
well," said Woods.
Senior Kameron Gehring paced the hosts with a team high 25 points
with a game high 7 assists. The 5-10 guard was 9 of 18 from the
floor, which included 3 of 7 from 3-point range and 4 of 5 from the
free throw line, while Bryson Tucker added 17 points and 4 boards.
The 6-4 senior was 6 of 8 from the field, which included a perfect 4
of 4 from 3-point range and made one of two free throw attempts.
Brody Weaver came off the bench to spark the squad with 11 points
and a team best 8 rebounds, as the junior made 5 of 9 field goal
attempts and one of two free throw attempts. Thomas Spencer added 11
points with 4 boards, as four different Cards marked the scoring column.
Kameron Gehring led all players with 11 points in the first quarter,
but Kade Grundy answered with three triples of his own, as Somerset
claimed a 19-17 edge.
Wayne County answered in the second stanza and connected on 5 of 8
from the field and used the 6 points of Bryson Tucker to spark a 13-4
run, which gave the locals a 30-23 halftime lead.
Brody Weaver led all players with 7 points in the third frame, but
the Jumpers ended the period with a 6-0 spurt to close the gap to
46-40, after 24-minutes of play.
Somerset was just 5 of 16 from the field in the fourth quarter, but
Grundy totaled 9 points and the visitors used a 17-11 tilt to knot
the score at 57-57 at the end of regulation.
The first bonus period was a defensive slugfest as each team managed
just a bucket, which left the score at 59-59, after 36-minutes of action
Wayne County made just 2 of 8 field goal attempts in overtime and
the Jumpers made 4 of 5 free throw attempts which was more than
enough to spark a 9-5 run to claim the 68-64 win.
Somerset finished 24 of 64 overall from the field for 38 percent and
that included a 7 of 24 clip from 3-point range for 29 percent. The
winners connected on 13 of 18 free throw attempts for 72 percent and
finished with 8 turnovers.
The Cards countered with 25 of 49 shooting overall for 51 percent
and that included a 7 of 13 mark from 3-point range for 54 percent.
The squad converted on just 7 of 13 free throw attempts for 54
percent and finished with 12 turnovers.
Wayne County's game with West Jessamine was cancelled on Friday and
will be made up next season, as no replacement was found for a game
on either Thursday or Friday.
"West Jessamine and East Jessamine had to reschedule their game,
which left us open for a Thursday or Friday game. We talked to
several different schools, but unfortunately weren't able to get a
game, so we'll go back to work for two tough matchups this week,"
said Woods.
The squad travels to 12th Region rival Boyle County on Tuesday night
and wraps-up the season with a home matchup with 25-2 Lexington
Catholic, one of the top five teams in the state.
Details on both games will appear in next week's edition of The Outlook.
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