Lauded for their excellent defense during Jeff Davis’ tenure as coach, the South Laurel Cardinals showed Tuesday at Harlan than they can also shoot the basketball.
The Cardinals, ranked fourth statewide in the RPI system used by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, got off to a blazing start as they shot 73 percent (eight of 11) from beyond the 3-point line and 64 percent (16 of 25) overall in building a 44-27 halftime lead. South cooled off a little in the second half but stayed in command on the way to a 75-60 victory that improved their record to 10-2.
“It seemed like they didn’t miss a shot in the first half. A lot of those 3s were wide-open, uncontested 3s,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said. “We left some guys open we probably shouldn’t have. Coach Davis has an excellent team, and if you’re not prepared and give them open shots they will knock them down.”
South featured a balanced attack as Colton Rawlings hit five of six shots in the first half, Josh Steele connected on five of seven and Jordan Mabe hit four of seven. Mabe finished with 19 points while Rawlings and Steele added 17 each. Landon Howard came off the bench to add 12 points.
“When they have that many guys, they can space you out, and Mabe is in there putting in missed shots,” Akal said. “I thought we did a better job the second half of challenging 3s. We made some adjustments the second half.”
Senior guard Kyler McLendon again led the Harlan offense with 34 points. Trenton Cole added 13.
Steele had three baskets in the first quarter while Rawlings added two as the Cardinals built a 22-13 lead. Rawlings and Mabe each had three baskets in the second quarter as the Cardinals’ lead grew to 17 points. In addition to their shooting, South also dominated the glass with a 13-1 advantage.
South pushed its lead to 24 points, at 57-33, midway through the third quarter. Cole and Dylan Cox each hit 3s in the third quarter while McLendon added three baskets as Harlan cut the deficit to 61-42 heading into the final period.
McLendon owned the fourth quarter as he hit five of six shots to help Harlan outscore South 18-14 in the period.
The 2-9 Dragons return to action Saturday where they open defense of their 13th Region All “A” Classic title at Red Bird against the host Cardinals in a 2 p.m. game. South Laurel travels to Boyle County on Saturday.
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Landon Howard scored 14 points to lead South to a 64-39 win in junior varsity action. Brennan Combs added eight points, followed by K.T. Taylor with seven, Brandon Layman and Kamden Dewees with six each and Brendan Murphy with five. Mason Boggs, Cannon Jackson, Gage Adams and Zack Thomas scored four each. Brenden Cassidy added two.
Eric Evans led Harlan (0-2) with 10 points. Will Shepherd scored eight. Jaxson Perry added seven. Eli Noe tossed in six. Cruz Galloway chipped in with three. Dylan Collins added two.
