LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — The gym at South Laurel is not a place of worship, but Friday night Matthew Slavey had his prayer answered.

With the score tied 46-46, Slavey let fly a three that banked in to give the Cardinals a 49-46 win over the visiting Williamsburg Yellowjackets. It was a shot that almost didn’t happen.

“I didn’t even see the ball come to me,” Slavey said. “I just caught it and threw up a prayer and it went in.”

“I didn’t know what the heck happened,” South Laurel coach Jeff Davis said.

Davis told his team during a timeout that they still had fouls to give and to foul Williamsburg. He also told them if they had an open layup to take it, but if not, call a timeout. Neither thing happened.

Instead, Dalton Sizemore drove to the basket where Slavey blocked his shot. “We were supposed to foul and we didn’t, but we still made the play,” Davis said. The Cards got the ball upcourt but didn’t call a timeout.

“They all started coming toward me,” Davis said.

Slavey, who was standing in front of the South Laurel bench, looked like he was about to call a timeout when suddenly the ball appeared in front of him and bounced off his chest. He was able to collect the ball and let the shot go as time expired for the game winner.

“I’m surprised we didn’t turn the ball over,” Davis said.

It wasn’t the first time this season that Slavey came up huge when his team needed him. He hit the bucket that sent the first South Laurel-Corbin game into overtime. Three nights later, he drained a three that sent the Barbourville game into overtime.

“If the game comes down to the line he’s the guy you want to have the ball,” Davis said.

It was a game that saw several ties and lead changes, just like the first time these two teams hooked up, a game that the Yellowjackets won in overtime, 77-74. This game also looked destined for an extra session before Slavey’s heroics.

Williamsburg (11-12, 2-3) led after one, 15-14, but the Cards, behind the play of Jeff Hale and Zac Baxter, battled back to take a 28-23 lead into the half. Both players had five points in the quarter. Hale led South with 11 in the first half, while Baxter added nine.

South Laurel (8-15, 3-3) opened the third quarter with a five point lead and a chance to really take control of the game. Unfortunately, the Cards missed their first 11 shots from the field. In fact, they hit only one field goal the entire quarter, a layup by Baxter at 0.1. Add to that a free throw by both Hale and Slavey and the Cardinals scored a grand total of four points in the third quarter, compared to 11 by Williamsburg. Yet the Cardinals trailed by only two heading into the fourth quarter, 34-32.

“We can’t have four point quarters,” Davis said.

A basket by Hale tied the score at 34-34. A Jared Barton three allowed Williamsburg to regain the lead, 37-34, with 5:21 left. A Baxter bucket tied the game at 38-38 at the 3:56 mark as the game continued to go back-and-forth.

Consecutive layups by Donnie Bowlin and Sizemore allowed the Yellowjackets to take a four-point lead, 42-38, with 3:17 remaining. The lead remained at four, 44-40, when Barton drove the baseline and scored at the 3:43 mark.

A Slavey three brought the Cards to within one, 44-43, with 1:27 left. That would be a sign of things to come. Baxter would tie the game with a free throw before Skylar Griffith took the ball coast-to-coast for a layup to give his team a 46-44 lead with 39.3 seconds left.

It would be Slavey again as he tied the scored with a basket at the 21.7 mark. He would then block the shot and drain the three to give the Cardinals the win.

South placed three players in double figures, led by 16 from Baxter and 14 by Hale. Slavey finished with 11, eight of those in the final 1:27 of the game.

Griffith led Williamsburg with 13 while Barton tossed in 12. For the game, South Laurel was 19-of-54 for 35 percent. Williamsburg hit 18-of-46 from the field for 39 percent.

“It’s still a learning thing,” Davis said. “We are still learning to play.”

The Cardinals traveled to Barbourville Saturday night then will host North Laurel on Friday. The 1982 Laurel County Cardinals state championship team will be honored during that game, and South and North will wear throwback uniforms to honor them. The Cards will be in red while the Jaguars will play in gray.



South Laurel 49, Williamsburg 46

Williamsburg     15  8  11  12—46

South Laurel     14 14   4  17—49

WILLIAMSBURG (46)—Griffith 13, Barton 12, Sizemore 9, Smoak 8, Bowlin 4.

SOUTH LAUREL (49)—Grubb 1, Rader 6, Slavey 11, Baxter 16, J. Hale 14.

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