MIDDLESBORO — Having shared the basketball with a pair of all-staters and two of the leading scorers in county history in Trent Noah and Maddox Huff through much of his high school career, Harlan County’s Reggie Cottrell didn’t have an easy path to 1,000 points.
Cottrell found a way to carve out his role with the Black Bears’ regional championship and state runner-up team as a starting guard in 2024 and joined an elite club on Friday as he poured in 36 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in a 69-61 win at Middlesboro.
“It’s not easy to score that many points when you play with a guy who scored 3,000 points and another who scored 2,000. I’m proud of Reggie for all he has accomplished and glad to see him get this out of the way. He’s been a big part of our team for years,” said Harlan County coach Kyle Jones, who reached his own milestone with his 100th coaching victory in only four seasons on the job.”
Junior guard Trent Cole added 16 points as the Bears improved to 14-8 overall and 3-1 in district action.
Senior guard Joseph Killion scored 19 points and junior guard Bryson Brooks added 18 for the 11-12 Jackets, who have dropped four straight games after a hot start that included topping last year’s win total midway through the season.
Cottrell scored the game’s first two baskets and hit four of six shots in the opening period as the Bears never trailed and built a 24-11 lead after one period. Cole added three baskets in the opening quarter, and Landon Brock contributed two.
Cottrell, who also finished with 10 rebounds in one of the best games of his career, had five of the Bears’ six baskets in the second quarter, finishing with 22 points in the half as HCHS built a 39-22 lead by halftime. Mekhi Young and Malachi Coots led the Jackets with two baskets each.
Needing 25 points to each 1,000, Cottrell passed the mark with his baskets at the 5:20 mark of the third quarter. Brock’s basket gave HC its biggest lead at 45-26. Led by five baskets from Killion in the quarter, Middlesboro cut the deficit to 54-41 heading into the fourth period.
Middlesboro hit seven of 13 shots in the fourth quarter, led by three baskets from Brooks, to get as close as eight on several occasions. A Kaden Jones 3 was one of only two baskets for HC in the final quarter and pushed the lead to 11 with 2:07 to play. Brady Smith hit three of four free throws in the final minutes to put the game away.
Harlan County travels to Berea on Saturday for the Bill Smallwood Classic and will play Madison Southern at 5:15. Middlesboro plays host to Bell County on Monday.
