After flying high against Smith County last Saturday, Martin County came back down to earth. The Martin County Cardinals fell just short of the Everglades Gators by a score of 69-67 on Monday. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Cardinals came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 25th in Kentucky, while the Gators are ranked 185th in Florida).
Leading Everglades to victory were Lance Bailey, Jr and Chris Payoutte. Bailey, Jr went 7 for 11 on his way to 14 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals, while Payoutte went 6 for 13 on his way to 17 points and eight rebounds. With that strong performance, Bailey, Jr is now averaging an impressive 2.1 steals per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Nathan Rey, who went 5 of 12 on his way to 12 points.
Cardinals
| 12/30/24 vs Everglades | 67-69 |
| 12/28/24 vs Smith County | 70-49 |
| 12/27/24 vs Lennard | 68-60 |
| 12/21/24 vs Shelby County | 86-46 |
| 12/19/24 @ Rowan County | 72-70 |
With the defeat, Martin County broke their seven-game winning streak and moved their record to 10-2. As for Everglades, the victory (which was their fourth in a row) raised their record to 9-5.
Martin County will head out to face off against Johnson Central at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Martin County's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points every time they've taken the court this season. As for Everglades, they will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Stranahan at 7:30 p.m. on January 9th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
