With seven games against teams ranked in the Courier-Journal’s preseason top 25 list, not to mention several top out-of-state squads in tournaments in Bristol and Louisville, Harlan County coach Kyle Jones wanted to make sure he had his squad ready for the postseason.
It appears the Bears survived the brutal schedule in fine fashion, improving to 5-2 against those top 25 teams with a 93-75 victory Saturday over visiting Boyd County. The night will long be remembered as the game where Trent Noah broke Charles Thomas’ county scoring record with a 38-point night that gave him 3,375 points.
The Bears got off to a great start, building a 44-28 halftime lead by hitting 12 of 16 shots in the second quarter while holding Boyd to 10 of 29 shooting in the first half.
“I told them that I feel we played the best first half on both ends as well as we have all year,” Jones said. “That’s a good sign at the end of the year.”
Playing tough competition was also a reason behind Boyd County making the trip. The Lions are ranked first in the 16th Region.
“This was good for us,” Boyd County coach Randy Anderson said. “We play a pretty tough schedule, but we don’t see teams like this night in and night out. I told our guys if our goals are to get through our region and get to Rupp this is what you have to deal with. I thought mentally we came in a little tentative early. They took a lead because of that. We missed an awful lot of open shots early. That’s what you have to do to play against teams the caliber of this in a four-game tournament. I think this woke our kids up because they only outscored us two in the second half. If you take care of the start it’s a whole new game.”
Noah hit 15 of 23 shots in his 38-point, 11-rebound night, but he was far from a one-man show. Sophomore guard Reggie Cottrell hit 10 of 12 shots and finished with 22 points while Maddox Huff connected on seven of 13 in scoring 16.
“That’s the difference in our team this year,” Jones said. “We’re guarding hard, and we have other kids who are making contributions. We have to continue having that going forward, but I’m really pleased with our team tonight.”
Junior guard Cole Hicks hit 10 of the Lions’ 14 3-pointers and finished with 34 points.
“I’m thankful for coach Jones. Last year when we couldn’t find games, he was willing to come to Boyd County,” Anderson said. “When we got halfway over Pine Mountain, I looked at my assistant and said ‘this was a great idea last year wasn’t it?’ They run a class program and are very physical. Trent is as good as advertised, and they have a really nice team. They are really solid.”
Harlan County returns to action Tuesday at home against Knox Central before closing the regular season Thursday at Whitley County. Boyd County plays host to Johnson Central on Monday.
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Sophomore guard Ethan Rardon scored 26 points and freshman guard Clark Huff added 21 as Boyd County won 64-57 in junior varsity action.
Brennan Blevins and Landon Brock each scored 16 points and Cole Cornett added 10 for the 5-4 Bears. Bryson Bryant chipped in with seven, while Brady Freeman added six and Shemar Carr scored two.