The Harlan boys basketball team proved that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the Kentucky All “A” Classic at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
Trailing for a majority of the game against a taller and more experienced Newport squad, the Green Dragons showed grit and determination with a second-half rally that forced overtime, only to fall short in the end, 55-54.
“I’m proud of the effort and the toughness we played with this tournament,” Harlan head coach Derrick Akal said. “We didn’t win the game, but I think we learned something about what it takes.”
After converting just six of its 21 first half floor shots, and misfiring on all nine of its attempts from behind the 3-point line, Harlan outscored Newport 32-22 over the final two quarters.
Harlan trailed 21-14 at halftime and by as many as eight points before the lid finally came off the basket for the Green Dragons during the third quarter.
“We thought we were getting good shots in the first half, but they just weren’t going in, so we told them to continue taking good shots,” Akal said.
Harlan senior Dylan Cox knocked down back-to-back triples to pull his team to within striking distance at 26-22 during the early stages of the third quarter, but Newport answered with five straight points to extend its lead to nine points.
Harlan answered the Newport spurt on long 3-pointers by sophomore Izack Saylor and junior Legend Mimes, before an inside basket by sophomore Kobe Noe cut the Wildcats’ lead to 33-30 heading into the final eight minutes.
Saylor’s second triple of the half made it 34-33 during the first minute of the fourth quarter, and Mimes then scored four straight points for the Green Dragons to stake them to their first lead of the game at 37-36.
Following a Newport timeout with 4:38 remaining in the game, Mimes knocked down his second triple of the half, and Noe followed with a basket from close range to stake Harlan to a 44-38 lead.
Newport missed five straight free throws down the stretch, but still managed to rattle off eight unanswered points to retake the lead, 46-44 with just over one minute left on the scoreboard clock.
Diminutive sophomore Ethan Huff’s lone basket during the final 60 seconds of the game tied the score for the second time. Newport called timeout with 31 seconds left in the game, but was unable to convert, extending the tense thriller into a four-minute overtime.
Harlan missed its first four floor shots of the extra stanza, but a pair of free throws by Noe tied the score at 48-48 and set up an old-fashioned three-point play by Mimes that re-established a lead for the Green Dragons at 51-50 with 1:14 remaining.
A Cox layup made it 53-51, but a basket by Newport junior Amontae Lowe tied the score for the sixth time and set the stage for a dramatic final minute of overtime.
A turnover by Harlan with 35 seconds remaining allowed Newport coach Rod Snapp to call timeout with 25 ticks remaining, but the Wildcats turned the ball over following the stoppage.
Mimes converted one of his two free throw attempts with 17.4 seconds left to make it 54-53, but a clutch basket by senior Irvan Nichols with three seconds remaining provided the winning margin.
Mimes scored 14 of his game-high 18 points during the second half to lead a balanced scoring attack for Harlan. Cox and Noe scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.
“Legend had his best game and he’s gotten better each game, so we hope he continues to show his value,” Akal said about the 6-foot-5 Mimes.
Newport (13-4) got a team-high 15 points from Nichols and 12 points from Lowe. The win for the Wildcats was their sixth in a row and send them into the semifinal round of the tournament Feb. 1 in Owensboro.
Next up for Harlan (8-12) is a game Friday against Harlan County.
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Newport (55) – Keegan Farrell 9, Irvan Nichols 15, Amontae Lowe 12, Davae Andrews-Glover 8, Sean Hurry 0, Damarco Jackson 9, Amen Petty 2, Logen Petty 0.
Harlan (54) — Jaxson Perry 4, Izack Saylor 6, Dylan Cox 14, Ethan Huff 2, Kobe Noe 10, Legend Mimes 18.

Newport 11-10-12-13-9–55
Harlan 6-8-16-16-8–54