PIKEVILLE – Martin County High School built a 15-point lead midway through the third period and held off a furious comeback by Lawrence County to win the boys’ 15th Region Tournament championship, 65-61, before a crowd of 3,000 at the Appalachian Wireless Arena on Monday night.
The Cardinals, now 22-12, are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since winning the regional championship as Sheldon Clark back in 1983. Lawrence County’s season ends at 22-12. Martin County had lost previously in the finals in 2013 and 1988.
Trey James led the Cardinals with 17 points while tournament MVP Brady Dingess and Braxton Maynard tallied 14 apiece. Jordan Dalton tossed in 10.
Cody Maynard led the Bulldogs with 18 points while Trenton Adkins finished with 16 points, including five treys to fuel the comeback. Tyler Maynard added 13.
At Pikeville
(15th Region Tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
LC (22-12)…….11 12 14 24 – 61
MC (22-12)……16 16 16 17 – 65
Scoring:
Lawrence County (61) – Chase Sartin 1 0-0 2; Cody Maynard 5(2) 2-2 18; Tyler Maynard 2(3) 0-0 13; Baiden Gillispie 1(1) 2-2 7; Trenton Adkins 0(5) 1-2 16; and Corbin Fairchild 1(1) 0-0 5. Totals: 10(12) 5-6 61.
Martin County (65) – Brady Dingess 1(2) 6-9 14; Ethan Smith-Mills 1 1-1 3; Jordan Dalton 2 6-8 10; Braxton Maynard 3(2) 2-2 14; Trey James 7 3-4 17; and Parker Davis 2(1) 0-0 7. Totals: 16(5) 18-24 65.