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Cards defeat Oliver Springs (TN) 77-58 Shannon Hutchinson Sports Writer The Wayne County Cardinals met Oliver Springs (TN) last Friday night at Knoxville Catholic, in the first round of the St. Maryıs Classic. The Cards entered with a 1-3 record and were looking to snap a two-game losing streak, while the Bobcats owned a 5-6 mark. The contest marked the first ever meeting between the two schools. Wayne County senior guard Steven Sexton moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list with a season high 35 points, as the Cards claimed a 77-58 win. Sexton finished 13 of 25 from the field, which included 7 of 11 shooting from 3-point range, plus grabbed 10 rebounds with 8 assists, as Wayne County improved to 2-3 on the season. Sextonıs 35 points gives the senior 1,295 for his career, which passes the 1,274 points of former Cardinal Brad Bell. ³Steven had about as complete a game as you can have. Thatıs the best heıs shot it all year and really had a big game. Take away some turnovers and his complete line is about as solid as it gets. Heıs still adjusting to this yearıs team and turnovers is an area we have to improve,² said Cards head coach Rodney Woods. Senior center Drew Guffey added 12 points with 6 rebounds, as the winners paced two scorers in double-figures. Cody Decker finished with 8 points and 4 boards, while fellow freshman Dustin Wells and Jacob Gregory tallied 7 points each. Wells totaled 4 rebounds with 4 assists and Gregory grabbed a season high 6 rebounds, as the Cards paced seven different scorers in the scoring column. Junior reserve forward W.K. Allen also helped the effort with 5 points and a game high 11 rebounds, as Wayne County enjoyed a 46-28 rebound advantage. ³W.K. really rebounded well and in this game we were able to press a lot and get some deflections. This was the first time all year we were able to get some transition baskets out of our defense,² said Woods. Oliver Springs, which dropped to 5-7, was led by the team high 25 points and 8 rebounds of forward Adam Carter. Carter finished 9 of 17 from the field and 6 of 10 from the charity-stripe to pace the Bobcats. Jamie Gaylor added 8 points and 6 boards, while David Collett netted 6 points with a team best 4 assists, as nine different Bobcats scored in the contest. ³Oliver Springs with all their game experience really concerned us. They had a very good scorer in the post in Adam Carter and while not a great team they had a pretty decent basketball team,² said Woods. Steven Sexton led all Cards with 8 points in the first frame, as the Wayne County Cards made 6 of 16 field goal attempts, to take a 14-13 lead. Adam Carter paced Oliver Springs with 7 points in the period, as the Bobcats made 6 of 15 field goal attempts to stay close. Sexton torched the nets for 12 more points in the second stanza, as the Cards used a 24-14 run, to claim a 38-27 halftime advantage. Wayne County shot 50 percent in the opening half, aided by 8 of 12 shooting in the second quarter, which included 4 of 5 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. ³After a poor start, I thought it was going to be another long game, but we finally made some easy shots and was able to break the game open in the third quarter,² said Woods. Five different Bobcats scored in the second period, as Adam Carter led the attack with 13 first half points. Steven Sexton added 10 points in the third quarter and Cody Decker chipped-in with 6, as the Cards used a 23-16 advantage to push to a 61-43 lead. Wayne County connected on 10 of 19 field goal attempts, while Oliver Springs countered with 6 of 10 shooting of their own from the field. The teams played on near-even terms in the final 8 minutes, as five different Cards scored in the 16-15 fourth period tilt. Wayne County played all 10 players in the stanza and cruised to a 77-58 win. A review of the stats shows Oliver Springs shot 23 of 55 overall for 42 percent and made 4 of 16 3-pointers for 25 percent. The Bobcats etched on 8 of 13 free throws for 62 percent and totaled 10 assists and 9 steals against 16 turnovers. Wayne County finished 31 of 66 from the field overall for 47 percent and tallied on 9 of 21 3-pointers for 43 percent. The Cards made just 6 of 13 free throws for 46 percent and totaled 17 assists with 11 steals. The squad was once again plagued by turnovers, as the team finished with 18 miscues. ³We sure felt pretty good after the game and even though it wasnıt a great team it was a good win on the road. I thought this game would give our kids some much needed confidence for the next night. We had a good workout after the game the following day, but it just didnıt carry-over into the game,² said Woods. The Cards returned to action on Saturday night facing host Knoxville Catholic, in the second round of the St. Maryıs Classic. Details on that game in a related story inside this Outlook. Add a comment |
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