PAYBACK AT THE NEST
South Laurel defeats Corbin 73-55 in a must win district rematch.
The WYMT game of the week met all expectations, for the South Laurel crowd that is. Davis and the Cardinals defeated Corbin 73-55, in a payback effort from falling to the Redhounds in their first district matchup. This win marks a 1-1 record between the two teams on the year.
South would take an early lead, up 4 points after the first quarter. This lead would be extended 7 points for the Cards going up into halftime 33-26. Eli Gover would capitalize with a 3-point buzzer beater, pushing his team ahead 18 points going into the final quarter. South maintained their lead in the last quarter of play, pulling out the huge win 73-55. Scoring efforts were led by Parker Payne with 23 points, Jordan Mabe tallying 17 points and an additional 16 points from Eli Gover.
“It was good to get a big district win at home. We talk at the beginning of each year about playing for the #1 seed while winning our home games and trying to get some road wins to achieve that goal. We felt like we didn’t play our best the last time we played at their place.
They were without their leading scorer tonight. I hope that he is okay and gets healthy quickly. You never want to see anyone miss games, so hopefully, he gets back quickly”, said Davis.
Davis mentioned a few comments on the pregame controversy including the Corbin Redhounds squad. “It was the strangest thing I’ve been part of, never heard or seen that ever. Coach P is a good friend and has been really good to me since I’ve been here. That’s the last thing I want to see happen to him or his team. But give his team and coaches credit, they played really well and it was another tough game. Curry and Stewart played well, and I don’t think they missed much”.
“I was proud of how we responded to the things we have been working on. Parker was in a good rhythm tonight offensively and defensively. He allowed it to come to him. Jordan is getting better each game and is making things easier for the others”.
Coach Davis had a lot of praise for Caden Jones on the night. “If you look at the box score, you’re not going to see anything too flashy, but Caden Jones has been the rock for us on both ends. Tonight, he hit big shots when we needed somebody to step up and make them.
He is capable of doing that. He is also the anchor defensively and plays such an important role when guarding players, he doesn’t always match up well with. Caden always gets the job done”.
The leading scorer for the Cardinals was senior Parker Payne. Payne mentioned, “We took what the defense gave us, and shared the ball well tonight. We didn’t do this in the first matchup with Corbin. We were confident going into the game and executed our plan very well. This feels good going into the rest of our district schedule after this big win at home. We have to keep guarding on the defensive end and continue sharing the basketball”.
“We showed the rest of the district that when we play together, we are a very good basketball team”, stated Jordan Mabe. “We are one of the best teams in the district when we play together as one. Holding each other accountable is very important, and we will continue to achieve our goals through great communication”.
District play continues for South Laurel as they travel to Whitley County Tuesday, January 24th. This will be the first matchup between the two teams this season.
Scoring: Payne 23, Mabe 17, Gover 16, Garland 8, Jones 7, Steele 2
-Dylan Wilson, SL Basketball Media
