PINEVILLE — With 13 years having passed since the last 13th Region Tournament win for the Pineville Mountain Lions, coach Brad Levy is doing all he can to prepare his senior-dominated squad for the postseason. The Lions pushed Corbin, last year’s regional runner-up, to the final minute on Tuesday before falling by four points. Pineville closed its regular season schedule Friday at home against defending state runner-up Harlan County. The Bears pulled away in the second half for an 85-68 victory.
“We’ve had two really good tests this week right before the district tournament. We’ve played two of the top teams year in and year out, and I think that’s good for our kids to see that kind of competition,” Levy said. “I was proud of how we competed and fought.”
“They have some talented kids, but we do, too,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “They played really aggressive and hard. They have a really good team that’s capable of beating anyone in our region on a given night. I felt we got a little wild at times feeding into the crowd. It will be like that in the district and region. We have to fine tune some things, but overall I’m really pleased.”
The game had a tournament feel with veteran squads on both sides hitting their share of tough shots. Harlan County senior Maddox Huff and Pineville senior Sawyer Thompson are both ranked among the region’s elite players with Huff scoring 37 and Thompson adding 29. Huff hit four of five 3-point attempts in the third quarter as the Bears turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 69-48 advantage by the end of the third period.
“Maddox Huff is obviously a great player, and he really got hot in the third quarter,” Levy said. “We struggled to slow him down. Like last year, it kind of feels like you have to score 1.6 points per possession just to keep pace. They are a great team, and we have a lot of respect for that team, along with coach (Kyle) Jones and his staff. Now everyone is 0-0, and we hope it pays off for us next week.”
Sophomore guard Trent Cole and senior center Jaycee Carter added 15 points each for the 22-8 Bears. Carter also led in rebounding with 15.
Senior guards Jeremiah Beck and Ashton Moser added 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the 19-9 Lions.
Harlan County will play Harlan on Tuesday in the 52nd District Tournament at Harlan. Pineville will play Barbourville on the Wednesday in the 51st District Tournament at Barbourville.
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Noah Slone scored 16 points and Preston Zachery added 15 as PIneville rolled to a 57-42 win in junior varsity action,.
Freshman guard Kaden Jones led the 4-4 Bears with 15 points. Landon Brock scored seven. Bryson Bryant and Brady Smith added five points each. Tucker Curtis and Hayden Grace scored four each. Brady Freeman chipped in with two.