Basketball Recap: Johnson Central Takes a Loss

If Johnson Central was feeling good fresh off their 78-51 takedown of Magoffin County last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Johnson Central Golden Eagles took a hard 87-71 fall against the Martin County Cardinals on Thursday. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Cardinals this season, with their most recent loss being a 101-89 defeat two weeks ago.

Austin Slone

Rebounds

01/09/25 @ Floyd Central	18
02/14/25 @ Martin County	13
02/04/25 vs Expression Prep Academy	12
12/13/24 @ Greenup County	12
02/25/25 vs Magoffin County	11
+ 20 more games

Despite the loss, Johnson Central saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Austin Slone dropped a double-double with 41 points and ten rebounds. Johnson Central is 10-2 when Slone posts eight or more boards, but 5-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Kyle Rose, who posted seven points and 11 rebounds.

Johnson Central has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 15-10 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 81.0 points over those games. The victory was the fourth in a row for Martin County, bringing their record for this year to 20-9.

Johnson Central didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 94-82 defeat against Lawrence County on the 1st. As for Martin County, they will face off against Phelps at 7:00 p.m. on March 8th. One thing working in Martin County's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last 13 games.