CORBIN — Clay County opened with a 12-0 run and closed with a 22-6 spurt after Harlan had fought back to within three on the way to a 78-59 win Monday in summer scrimmage action at Corbin High School.
The Dragons overcame a slow start when senior guard Kyler McLendon caught fire on the way to a 40-point performance. Freshman guard Trenton Cole was cold in the first half but hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Harlan cut the deficit to 56-53 with four minutes left before Clay pulled away again.
Cole finished with nine points for the Dragons, followed by Connor Daniels with six and Dylan Cox and Darius Akal with two each.
Harlan fell 71-49 to Corbin in the final scrimmage of the night.
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Clay County, led by former HCHS coach Michael Jones, edged Corbin 66-65 in overtime in a matchup of two of the teams likely to be listed among the top five in next year’s 13th Region rankings.
Senior forward Hayden Harris had the decisive basket with 10 seconds left in the one-minute overtime after Eli Pietrowski’s 3-pointer had given the Hounds a one-point lead.
Clay led most of the way, but Corbin appeared to be in control with a four-point lead with 35 seconds left. Landon Dezarn and Elijah Bundy hit 3s for the Tigers in the final 25 seconds to force overtime.