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Monticello Bank Classic: Cardinals pick up first win of season 57-56 over Casey County Melodie Phelps News Editor Wayne County began play in Monticello Bank Classic on Tuesday, December 27 with a 57-56 overtime win over Casey County. This marked the 27th meeting between the two schools and Wayne County leads the series with a 21-6 record. The last time the two teams played was December 21, 2000, when Wayne County took an 87-44 victory. Last Tuesday's game was played at Wayne County High School and was the final contest of opening round tournament action. The Cards fell behind early, but erased a 5 point halftime deficit to claim their first win of the season. With the victory, Wayne County improved to 1-8 on the season and earned a trip to the semifinal round of the tournament on Wednesday. "It was certainly nice to get our first win of the season," said Cardinal Coach Rodney Woods. "It has been tough to practice with a team that has experienced so much heartbreak. To get a win will hopefully do a lot for our confidence and even spur us on to work harder." Wayne County had a little different look to the starting lineup on Tuesday, as seventh grader Gavin Dunagan joined the first five. It marked the first time in school history that a seventh grader started in a varsity contest. Casey County took the edge in the opening quarter and led by 3, 15-12, at the stop. The Rebels scored 10 points in the second quarter, while the Cards put 8 points on the board. Casey County led 25-20 at intermission. But the Cardinal offense began to click in the third quarter, as they erased Casey County's lead and finished with a run to take a 36-33 advantage into the final eight minutes. The teams were deadlocked at 48 at the end of intermission and the Cards emerged with the one point win after an exciting overtime. "Give Robert Corder a lot of credit for the way we kept coming back," said Woods. "Robert showed a lot of maturity and unselfishness. It was the first time all season he didn't start a game but he didn't get down. He just fought harder. He handled it the way a winner handles situations like this." Corder finished with 12 points and had 4 steals. Leading the way offensively was Dustin Wells with 14. Wells also had 5 assists in the game. Cody Decker and Jacob Gregory each scored 10 points. Gregory had 9 rebounds and Decker also had two blocked shots in the win. "Dustin Wells continues to be our most consistent shooter and Cody Decker and Jacob Gregory rebounded hard tonight," said Woods. Woods noted that the Cards saw some good minutes from senior W.K. Allen. The return of junior Wesley Dick has also had an impact on the squad. "Wesley Dick is starting to get into better shape so that will be big for us," added Woods. The Cards showed tremendous improvement on shooting. The squad had been averaging about 35 percent from the floor, but in Tuesday's game they hit 22 of 45 for 48 percent. They were 7 of 16 from behind the arc for 43 percent. Wayne County shot 50 percent from the charity stripe, hitting 6 of 12. Casey County shot 42 percent from the floor, hitting 20 of 47. They were 4 of 12 from behind the arc for 33 percent. The Rebels hit 12 of 15 from the free throw line for 80 percent. Casey County was led by a tremendous effort from Keith Price who finished with a game-high 28 points. Will Johnson scored 17 points for the Rebels. Wayne County had the edge on the boards, out rebounding Casey County 28-26. The Cards committed 17 turnovers, compared to 18 by the Rebels. With the win, Wayne County advanced into the next round of tournament action, facing Cumberland Gap, Tenn. "I am really happy for the kids tonight," said Woods. "They've heard over and over about how bad they are by Wayne County standards, and it has been tough on them. So hopefully this will help get this team going in the right direction." Add a comment |
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