In a season filled with offensive highlights on their way to a ranking as one of the state’s top teams, the Harlan County Black Bears may have topped them all in building a 65-32 halftime lead Tuesday on the way to a 95-68 victory over visiting Pineville.
Harlan County shot 71 percent (25 of 35) in the first half on the way to a 60 percent (37 of 62) night overall that included 64 percent (14 of 22) from the 3-point line. The Bears started a running clock in the opening two minutes of the third quarter against a Pineville team ranked seventh in the 13th Region in the RPI ratings and sat their starters when the period ended.
“They are a heck of a ball team if they are shooting like that, contested or uncontested,” Pineville coach Brad Levy said. “Not many teams are going to beat them. They are a really good team. We told our kids at halftime that we gave up 65, and I know it sounds stupid and crazy, but I thought it was some of the best defense we’ve played in a long time. We were there on a lot of shots, and some non-shooters hit 3s. I thought we played well and accomplished some things we were trying to tonight. We have to keep trying to get better.”
“I felt we played about as well as we could offensively the first half,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “We shot the ball really well. We kind of relaxed a little the third quarter, and that will happen no matter how much you tell kids. We played well overalll though, and I was glad we got to play everyone.”
Senior guard Trent Noah moved within 29 points of Charles Thomas’ county scoring record with a 38-point night on 13-of-17 shooting that included eight 3-pointers. Maddox Huff 17 added points and 10 rebounds. Jaycee Carter and Reggie Cottrell chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Bears improved to 23-4 overall and remained unbeaten against 13th Region competition.
Pineville was led by junior guards Sawyer Thomas and Ashton Moser with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Senior forward Logunn Littles contributed 16 for the 17-7 Lions.
The Lions hit seven of 14 shots in the first quarter, but it wasn’t enough to match HC’s 12-of-18 as Noah, Caleb Johnson and Cottrell had three baskets each as the Bears took a 26-16 lead.
Harlan County took it to another level in the second period, hitting 13 of 17 shots in scoring 39 points. Noah hit six of seven shots and Huff connected on five of six.
Noah hit four of six shots in the third quarter and Carter connected on both of his attempts as the Bears’ lead grew to 87-56 by the end of the period. Thompson and Moser each had three baskets for the Lions, who hit nine-of-14 shots in a back-and-forth quarter played at breakneck speed.
Levy hopes the challenge provided by the Bears will help his team in the postseason.
“We could have gone to play any kind of team, but wanted a challenge so we go on the road and play a top 10 team in the state,” he said.
Harlan County will play host to Boyd County, the 16th Region’s top-rated team, on Saturday at 6 p.m. Pineville will travel to Oneida Baptist on Thursday.
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Freshman guard Gunnar Johnson scored 16 points as the Bears improved to 5-3 in junior varsity action with a 61-53 win over Pineville.
Brady Freeman and Shemar Carr each scored nine points while Landon Brock and Bryson Bryant added eight each. Cole Cornett contributed seven. Brennan Blevins and Kayden Hensley added two each.
Preston Zachery paced the Lions with 21 points. Anderson Gentry scored 10, Noah Slone chipped in with eight. Tate Slone scored seven. Nasir Wilson added three. Tyler Jackson and Ethan Jackson each chipped in with two.
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Harlan County had a 12-point halftime lead before South Laurel rallied for a 53-45 overtime win in the 13th Region freshman regional tournament on Saturday.
Brady Freeman scored 14 points and Landon Brock added 12 to lead the Bears. Gunnar Johnson chipped in with nine points. Cole Cornett scored seven. Bryson Bryant added three. Shemar Carr scored two.