HYDEN — After sleepwalking through a loss to Powell County two nights earlier, the Harlan County Black Bears went in search of their heart during a trip to Leslie County on Monday.
They found it with a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter, rallying from a one-point deficit to open the quarter on the way to a 79-73 victory.
“Everybody who played tonight played their absolute tails off. We have to play like that. It doesn’t matter who scores. If you’re playing hard and giving effort, I can’t ask for more than that,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “We came up with some timely baskets and didn’t panic when they shot extremely well. We have to get back to playing that way. We played that way this summer. That’s the way we need to play. We got after them and it caused them some problems.”
Senior guard Reggie Cottrell scored 28 points to lead the 10-6 Bears. Trent Cole chipped in with 20 points, while Brennan Blevins added 10, including eight in the decisive fourth quarter.
The 8-9 Eagles were led by senior guard Jesse Hoskins with 24 points. Sophomore guard Waden Whitehead added 14, and senior center Tripp Brashear scored 10.
Leslie came out red hot, hitting 10 of its first 13 shots to build a five-point lead. Cottrell carried the Bears early with 14 points in the period, including a free throw in the final seconds to cut the deficit to 25-23.
Two baskets by Cole and one by Tucker Curtis put the Bears on top early in the second quarter. The constant pressure from the Bears seemed to cool off the Eagles in the period as HCHS led by as many as five on a basket by Hayden Grace with just over a minute left. Leslie scored four straight to pull within three, at 39-36, going into the break.
Leslie fought back during a fast-paced third quarter to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point lead. Jones picked up a technical late in the period during an 8-0 run that gave the Eagles a four-point lead, but the Bears seemed to respond as Cole hit a 3-pointer and Cottrell followed with a steam and layup to cut the Leslie lead to 62-61.
Harlan County built on that momentum with 10 straight points to start the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Cottrell followed by a trey from Cole and two straight baskets by Blevins. Landon Brock, Blevins and Cottrell each hit two free throws over the final minute to seal the victory.
“Brennan made some big plays in that quarter with a couple of big drives. It thought we did a good job adapting to something different with ball screens for Trenton and Reggie,” Jones said. “I’m just super proud of how hard they played. That’s something we have to do.”
Harlan County plays host to Knott Central on Tuesday.
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Easton Engle scored 15 points and Andrew Vance added 12 as Harlan County coasted to a 53-27 win in freshman action.Blake Johnson tossed in seven points for the 3-2 Bears, followed by Bentley Alred with six, Carson Sanders and Hunter Fuson with four each, Trey Creech with three and Hudson Faulkner with two.
Brady Brumley led the Eagles with 11 points. Noah Whitaker scored eight, followed by Malachi Gibbs with six and Noah Roberts with two,
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Junior guard Trey Howard scored 24 points to lead Leslie to a 58-55 win in junior varsity action. Waylon Mitchell added 13 points. Brandon Lamadue and Jude Napier scored six each. Isaiah Begley and Brady Brumley contributed five and four points, respectively.
Tyhler Coots and Hayden Grace led the 4-5 Bears with 14 points each, Tucker Curtis scored 12. Rydge Lewis tossed in eight, Easton Engle added five. Trey Creech scored two.