SHELBYVILLE —After a 12-1 start to their summer schedule, the Harlan County Black Bears traveled to Shelbyville for the weekend to take a step up in competition, and they found it Friday on the opening day of the 64-team KABC Titans Shootout.
Harlan County faced teams from Louisville and Lexington in their first two scrimmages, falling 47-44 in overtime to Louisville Eastern before rolling to a 66-25 win over Lexington Henry Clay.
Senior guard Trent Noah scored 22 points to lead the Bears against Eastern. Maddox Huff added 11, followed by Reggie Cottrell with four, Brody Napier with three and Jaycee Carter and Caleb Johnson with two each.
The Bears struggled offensively much of the scrimmage. The Bears trailed 19-13 after one quarter before fighting back to take a 28-27 halftime lead with the help of three 3s from Noah and one each from Huff and Napier.
The scrimmage was tied at 35 after three quarters and 44 after four after the Bears were unable to connect on a shot in the closing seconds. The Bears missed again in overtime before Eastern won on a last-second 3-pointer.
With several college coaches watching, Noah poured in 34 against Henry Clay as he sparked a second-half run to blow the scrimmage open after the Bears led 27-16 at halftime. Noah hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points in the third quarter as HCHS opened with a 26-0 run before Henry Clay scored in the final minute of the period.
Huff added 10 for the Bears, followed by Cottrell with six, Napier with five, Johnson with four, Landon Brock with three and Brennan Blevins and Shemar Carr with two each.
Harlan County (13-2) will return to action against Butler, another Louisville team, at 1 on Saturday. The Bears will play again at 3 against the North Laurel-Kentucky Country Day winner if they defeat Butler.