CARDS CRUISE IN REMATCH WITH WHITLEY COUNTY

The South Laurel Cardinals would lead as much as 39 points in their 68-31 victory over the Whitley County Colonels. South would start the game with a 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, assisted by a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Gover. Several steals and layups would pad the Cardinal lead to 30-13 at the half. Dominance would continue in the second half of play,

issuing a running clock to finish the ballgame. The series between the two teams now sits at 1-1 on the season. South remains undefeated at home during district play.

“I’m really proud of our guys and the focus they put on the defensive end tonight”, said Davis.

“We did things that we didn’t do, or refused to do, down at their place. No matter who was in the game, all five guys were talking and helping each other”.

“They (Whitley) aren’t going to play like that again and we know that. They are too good of a team and well-coached by Coach Swords. But for us, it was about changing anything but how hard we played and how focused we were then the last time we played them”.

The energy and focus tonight from the team stood out for senior Eli Gover. “Tonight, we came out with a lot more energy and focus. We also believed we had something to prove. One thing we have to take from tonight to continue this type of performance is our strong defense. We turned Whitley over tonight, and it sped up the whole game which fed into our offense”.

Mabe was a force to be reckoned with tonight, picking up several boards and blocking multiple shots. “We came into the game with a good mindset and played with a lot of energy. We must continue to play defense the whole game and put the opposing team out of their comfort zone.

We have to continue taking good shots and crashing the glass every play to keep winning games like this”, said Mabe.

The Cardinals will seek to extend their win streak as they travel to Owsley County to face Breathitt County in the Bobby Bowling Classic.

Scoring: Gover 19, Payne 14, Mabe 11, Jones 10, Garland 9, Triplett 3, Steele 2

-Dylan Wilson, SL Basketball Media