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Wayne Co. upends McCreary Central, 67-59, in overtime Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals hosted McCreary Central last Tuesday night at the Cardinal gym in a match-up of 47th district rivals. The Cards opened their season with a 65-50 loss at Lincoln County four days earlier, while Central owned a 0-2 record. The Raiders opened their season with road losses to Southwestern, 76-47 and Gallatin County, 58-48. Wayne County entered the 72nd meeting between the two schools with a nine game winning streak in the rivalry, including a 53-46 decision last March in the 47th District Tournament championship game. Cardinal forward Cody Decker knotted the score at 52-52 with less than 30 seconds to play with a turn-around jumper and Steven Sexton exploded for 12 of his team high 26 points in overtime, as Wayne County claimed a 67-59 win. McCreary Central led throughout the contest, but missed 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to drop to 0-3 on the young season. The Raiders were also assessed a technical for sending the wrong player to the free throw line with under a minute to play, which aided the Cardsı rally. ³We were lucky on the technical, which was the right call, but I was pleased with the way we made the plays it took to win the game. I thought our defense late in the fourth quarter was big and we had a lot of guys set up and make key plays. Our guys were not as tentative this game and I felt our younger players played with a lot more confidence. I think playing at home allowed our guys to play that way, with more of a reckless attitude,² said Cards head coach Rodney Woods. Senior guard Steven Sexton paced the attack with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. The all-state candidate converted on 9 of 18 field goal attempts and 4 of 6 free throws, plus nailed three straight 3-pointers in the overtime period. ³Steven is in unreal physical shape and I think down the stretch his conditioning really showed up big. The pressure was on and he makes some big threes, which shows just how good of shape heıs in. Plus we made some good things happen, when I think McCreary started to get tired late,² said Woods. Sophomore forward Wesley Dick was a catalyst off the bench with a career high 10 points and a career best 6 rebounds. Dick finished 3 of 5 from the field, which included two clutch 3-pointers, plus netted 2 steals. ³Wesley gave us a big lift with some hustle plays and that seemed to ignite everybody else. Everybody made some big shots in this game. Jacob Gregory hit a couple threes, Cody Deckerıs shot at the end of regulation was huge and W.K. Allen also made some big brackets in the fourth quarter. We started diving on the floor and really getting after it and then our crowd really got involved,² said Woods. Dustin Wells led a trio of Cards that finished with 7 points each, plus tallied 4 assists. Senior center Drew Guffey totaled 7 points with 7 rebounds, while W.K. Allen chipped in with 7 points, as all seven Cards that played, scored in the win. McCreary Central was led by the game high 30 points of junior guard Josh Bartley. Bartley was just 1 of 10 inside the 3-point arc, but made seven of 11 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws to pace the visitors. Junior reserve Lucas Gregory added 12 points, as the Raiders placed seven different players in the scoring column. McCreary Centralıs Ben Perry added 4 points and a game high 13 rebounds, as the Raiders enjoyed a 48-34 rebound edge. ³They really hurt us on the backboards and their rebounding helped give them the lead, plus made it tough to come back. Rebounding is a huge factor and their quickness showed that size really doesnıt matter. We have to do a better job of blocking out and pulling the ball off the glass,² said Woods. Josh Bartley led all scores with 8 points in the opening period, as McCreary pushed to an 11-8 lead. Three different Cards scored in the frame, as the hosts were plagued by 4 of 14 shooting from the field. Bartley and Lucas Gregory combined for all 20 of McCrearyıs points in the second period, as McCreary pushed to a 31-26 halftime lead. The Raiders made 5 of 8 3-pointers in the stanza, while the Cards used six different scores in the quarter to stay close. McCreary Central used a 14-13 third period tilt, to push to a 45-39 lead, after 24 minutes. Nine different players etched the scoreboard in the period, as both squads used balanced attacks. Steven Sexton led all scorers with 5 points in the frame. Wayne County rallied late, led by the 5 points of W.K. Allen. The Cards ended regulation on a 13-7 run, aided by McCrearyıs 2 of 10 shooting from the charity stripe, to force overtime with the score tied at 52-52. The Cards flourished in the extra period and made 4 of 5 field goal attempts, while limiting the Raiders to just 1 of 10 shooting in overtime to claim a 67-59 win. McCreary Central shot 17 of 56 overall for 30 percent and converted on 10 of 27 3-pointers for 37 percent, plus made 15 of 27 free throws for 56 percent. The Raiders committed 15 turnovers and totaled 9 assists with 5 steals. Wayne County totaled 24 of 55 overall for 44 percent and made 9 of 23 3-pointers for 39 percent. The hosts finished with 12 assists, 10 steals and 10 turnovers, while connecting on just 10 of 21 free throws for 48 percent. ³We probably spend more time on free throws than anybody in the state. We chart every day in practice and all of our guys have put up nearly 1,000 free throws in practice, so our shooting from the line has been disappointing. We have to do a better job at the line,² said Woods. Up next for the Cards was a Friday night home date with 2-1 Whitley County. ³I think this game should help our guys develop some trust and confidence in each other. We canıt win with Steven being over half of our offense and this game allowed for our guys to start to see what happens when everybody steps up. We just have to build on this effort and keep working to get better each time out,² said Woods. The win also improved the Cards to 52-20 all-time against the Raiders and marked their 10th straight win in the series. Add a comment |
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