MANCHESTER — After watching a 17-point lead early in the third quarter turn into a three-point deficit late in the fourth, Jackson County coach Greg Parrett knew he couldn’t let the Harlan Green Dragons continue to shoot open 3s.
The Generals switched to a man-to-man during a timeout with 1:57 left to play and closed with a 12-2 run to win 75-68 in the Bobby Keith Classic at Clay County High School.
“The bottom line was they got hot, especially (Izack Saylor). We don’t play a lot of man to man because we aren’t very good at it,” Parrett said. “Their 3s got them back in it, then they missed one or two and we were able to get the rebounds and get out in transition.”
Senior center Keagan Ward led the 7-9 Generals with 22 points as he hit 10 of 14 shots, including all six attempts in the second quarter as Jackson built a 47-32 halftime lead.
Harlan made some adjustments of its own at halftime, often doubling the 6-foot-6 Ward in the post. He only attempted four shots in the second half.
“We went to a zone to try to bottle the big guy up and it seemed to work, and it helped that we were able to make some shots. So, a combination of both led to that run,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said.
“We have to remind our kids some times that we have a pretty good player named Ward,” Parrett said. “He’s not an All-American, but he’s our best percentage player, We may get beat, but he has to touch the ball. We play with good teams for a couple of quarters, then we have a bad spurt. We have to get past that.”
Senior guard Braxton Clemons added 19 points as he took over the Jackson offense in the second half with the Dragons surrounding Ward and Peyton Singleton, who finished with 16 points.
Freshman guard Izack Saylor hit eight 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 26 points. Freshman center Kobe Noe added 19 points and nine rebounds as he provided an inside threat on a night when the Dragons attempted 42 3-pointers out of 62 shots. Senior guard Dylan Cox chipped in with 10 points.
“We went to a zone to try to bottle the big guy up and it seemed to work, and it helped that we were able to make some shots. So, a combination of both led to that run,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said.
Saylor hit three 3s and Cox added two in the third quarter as the Dragons outscored Jackson 21-10 to pull within four points. Saylor’s 3 with 6:11 left put Harlan ahead for the first time since the opening quarter. Harlan’s lead grew to three when Jaxson Perry penetrated and found Noe for a basket.
Two free throws by Ward and a Clemons steal and bucket put Jackson back on top. After Cox missed a 3, Wyatt Gray connected on a trey for Jackson. Clemons hit three of four free throws to help the Generals put the game away.
Parrett said both teams were better than their records indicate.
“Coach Akal does a great job. He plays a tough schedule. There are teams in our region with great records who probably aren’t any better than Harlan or Jackson County,” Parrett said. “We both play a good schedule. His is probably a little better than ours.”
The 2-16 Green Dragons travel to Bell County on Tuesday for a girls/boys doubleheader.