CARDS DOWN TROJANS 76-43

By SHANNON HUTCHINSON

Sports Writer

            The Monticello Trojans hosted 47th District rival Wayne County, last Tuesday night, at Monticello High School Gym. The Trojans entered the contest with a 2-2 record, trying to snap a two game losing streak, while the Cards owned an unblemished 3-0 mark. Wayne County entered the 82nd meeting between the two schools with a 1-0 district tally, while the hosts owned an 0-1 league mark. The Cards won the last meeting between the cross town rivals 109-67 on January 9, at Monticello.

            Wayne County freshman Steven Sexton scored a career high 16 points, while teammate Jerrod Gibbons tallied 16 points, as the Cards raced to a 13-2 first quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 76-43 win. Sexton, a 6-1 forward made 4 of 8 threes and 4 of 9 attempts overall to help pace the winners. Gibbons converted on 6 of 6 free throws, as the visitors shut a season best 27 of 35 from the charity-stripe for 77 percent.

            "I was really proud of how our team went about preparing for this game. We did a nice job defensively and rebounded hard. I thought we showed a lot of maturity and composure in a hostile environment," said Cards head coach Rodney Woods.

            The Cards leading scorer senior center Evan Dick finished with 15 points and a game high 11 rebounds, as the squad improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in district play. Dick was 4 of 9 from the field and 7 of 12 from the free throw line, while adding a game high 7 steals.

            Monticello, which dropped to 2-3, was led by senior guard Terry Brown. Brown led the Trojans with a team high 14 points, but was held to only 3 or 17 shooting from the field.

            Fellow senior Clifton Dobbs, a 6-3 forward, added nine points on 5 of 7 shooting from the foul-line as the hosts finished with only one scorer in double digits.

            "We didn't play with a whole lot of poise,” noted MHS Coach Shane Blevins. “We were impatient offensively...If we could have gotten a few baskets early it may have changed some things for us.”

            Poor shooting and foul trouble plagued both teams in the opening half, as the Cards made only 8 of 24 field goal attempts with 13 team fouls, while the Trojans connected only 2 of 15 attempts with 17 fouls.

            “We had people in foul trouble in the first three minutes of the game, and a lot of that goes back to not playing with a lot of poise,” said Blevins.

            Wayne County made 9 of 13 free throws in he opening period and used solid defense to hold the Trojans without a field goal, in the opening frame. Four different Cards scored in the period, as the visitors claimed a 13-2 advantage.

            Steven Sexton scored 11 of his 16 points, in the second quarter as the Cards used a 26-15 advantage, to claim a 39-17 halftime lead. Monticello was able to connect n 2 of 4 field goals and 10 of 13 free throws, to have their most productive period of the game. Clifton Dobbs scored seven of this nine points, in the frame, to pace the hosts.

            "I really like the way we passed the ball and we finally shot fee throws like we are capable, especially in the second half,"  said Woods.

            Five different Cards scored in the third period, paced by 9 of 16 field goal shooting, as the Wayne County lead increased to 60-30 after the third quarter. The visitors were a perfect 8 of 8 from the free throw line, in the second half.

            Monticello's Terry Brown tallied 8 of his 14 points, in the final period, as 4 different Trojans etched the scoring column, in the fourth quarter. All 12 Cardinals played in the last quarter, as Wayne County cruised to a 76-43 road win.

            "This is a very unselfish team and one of these nights we are going to bust loose and really shoot it well. This was a total team effort and a great job by our assistant coaches in getting our team well prepared," said Woods.

            Wayne County finished 21 of 66 overall for 32 percent and made 7 of 26 threes for 27 percent. The winners connected on 27 of 35 free throws for 77 percent, while finishing with a season low eight turnovers.

            The Cards owned a 48 to 40 rebound advantage.

            Monticello made 11 of 45 field goal attempts for 24 percent and hit two of 15 threes for 13 percent. The hosts drained 19 of 29 free throws for 66 percent and finished with 22 turnovers.

            “When you're shooting like that you're not going to win many games,” said Blevins.

            Both teams returned to district action on Friday night with the Trojans playing McCreary Central, while the Cards traveled to Russell County. Details on both of those games in this Outlook.