CORBIN — When a 15-point halftime lead disintegrated into a two-point deficit with two minutes left in a matchup of the 13th Region’s top two preseason teams, the Harlan County Black Bears turned the game over to all-state senior guard Trent Noah.
Noah’s three-point play put the Bears back on top and helped him reach the 3,000-point plateau with 1:47 to play. Corbin’s Zander Curry pulled the Hounds even when he hit one of two free throws after a controversial foul call on Reggie Cottrell on his block. Noah gave HCHS the lead for good with a basket at the 1:24 mark, then slammed home two more points after Eli Pietrowski’s 3-pointer was off the mark. Pietrowski cut the lead in half with two free throws before Noah answered with 24 seconds left, then found Caleb Johnson open for a layup after another Corbin miss to finish off a 59-53 victory on Friday in the Tim Short Auto Mall Classic.
“We just felt that if we kept going to Trent he would either score or get fouled,” said Harlan County coach Kyle Jones, who drew a technical after one of numerous disagreements with officials during the hard-fought game. “Trent gets bumped a lot and sometimes, where he’s bigger, it doesn’t always get seen. He worked through it and finished the game out.”
Noah scored 31 points to lead the 14-2 Bears, joining former Mr. Basketball Charles Thomas, of Harlan, as the only two players in county history to score 3,000 points. Senior forward Caleb Johnson added 13 points.
Curry led the 6-4 Redhounds with 14 points. Pietrowski added 12.
Noah was held to no points and only one shot attempt in the first quarter, but Johnson filled the void with a pair of early 3s as the Bears took an 8-0 lead in the opening four minutes as the Hounds missed their first six shots. Curry broke the drought at the 3:02 mark, but Corbin hit only two of 10 shots and trailed 12-5 after one quarter.
Noah quickly made up for his slow start on offense with a three-point play and 3-pointer in the the opening minute of the second quarter. Another three-point play by Noah pushed the Bears’ lead to 24-10 midway through the period.
“We started out playing real physical. We talked about that because we felt they beat us up physically last year in the regional tournament,” Jones said,. “They are a good basketball team and well coached, and everyone knows that.”
After being held without a basket by Noah in the first half, Pietrowski started the Corbin comeback in the third quarter with two straight baskets. Curry hit three of four shots in the period as Corbin cut the deficit to 43-36 by the end of the quarter.
Pietrowski had two baskets in an 8-0 run as HCHS was held scoreless for almost three minutes before Noah took control down the stretch.
“We didn’t feel we played very well the second half. We didn’t come out ready to play. We were just able to hang around and win. We have to move on to the next one,” Jones said. “I think we showed some poise in the second half. Playing in all these tournaments has helped. We just have to keep improving.”
Both teams return to action Saturday on the second day of the Tim Short Auto Mall Classic as Harlan County plays North Laurel at 4 and Corbin takes on Ashland Blazer at 6.
———
Corbin coasted to a 62-31 win in junior varsity action as Trey Person scored 18 for the Hounds, while Lucas Brittain tossed in 12 and Dawson Farmer added 10.
Brennan Blevins led the 2-3 Bears with eight points. Brady Freeman scored seven, followed by Landon Brock with five and Cole Cornett with four. Bryson Bryant, Gunnar Johnson and Kayden Hensley each added two. Landyn Noe chipped in with one.