Harlan and Pineville tangled on the basketball court Tuesday night for the second time in five days, and although the venue was different, the result was the same.
The visiting Green Dragons blew things wide open with two long scoring runs during the second half and went on to defeat Pineville inside The Lions Den, 72-54.
After trailing throughout the first half, Pineville reeled off an 11-5 scoring run during the second quarter that included eight points from close range by sophomore Kenton Brock and a 3-point basket by sophomore Jacob Grubbs that cut the Harlan lead to 33-31 during the waning stages of the period.
Pineville freshman Anderson Gentry capped the second-quarter rally with a buzzer-beating triple that tied the score heading into halftime at 34-34.
The Mountain Lions took short-lived leads twice during the first four minutes of the third quarter, but Harlan answered with a 15-0 scoring run that effectively sealed the fate of the Mountain Lions.
Four different Green Dragons scored during the spurt, including seven points by sophomore Izack Saylor that featured a long 3-pointer and an emphatic slam dunk. By the time Brock’s free throw stopped the run, less than 40 seconds remained in the third quarter and the score was 53-41.
Pineville freshman Noah Slone scored seven straight points for the Mountain Lions to open the fourth quarter, cutting the Harlan lead to 57-50, but the Green Dragons put together a 15-2 scoring run to secure their 11th win of the season.
“I think the first half Pineville did a good job of controlling the pace of the game,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said. “In the second half we made some shots and got some turnovers and that helped us get out in front some.”
Harlan got a game-high 22 points from Saylor, who knocked down four 3-pointers, while Mimes added 20 points and sophomore Jaxson Perry chipped in with 12.
Slone scored a team-high 12 points for Pineville. Brock and Gentry chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively for the Mountain Lions.
After playing five games last week and with four scheduled this week, Pineville opened its second straight busy week with a 70-56 loss Monday on the road at Model.
The Mountain Lions trailed 30-27 at halftime, but struggled to keep up the pace in the third quarter against a Model team that won for the 15th time this season in 23 tries.
“We played great defense in the first half, but ran out of gas a little in the second half,” Pineville coach Brad Levy said.
Gentry scored a team-high 13 points for Pineville, while Grubb and Brock each netted 10 points. Slone also chipped in with nine points for the Mountain Lions.
Model senior Jayden Bingham led all scorers with 23 to pace an offensive attack that featured four double-digit scorers. Sophomore Landon Mayo scored 18 points for the Patriots, while senior Riley Mollette and junior Holt Cunningham finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively.
Next up for Pineville (11-13) is a road game Thursday at Harlan County, while Harlan (11-14) hosts Hazard on Wednesday.
———
Eli Noe scored 12 points and Braxton Rowe added 10 as Harlan won 36-32 in junior varsity action. Brayden Lucas chipped in with eight points. Caden Mefford scored four. Dylan Collins added two.
Eli McDermott paced Pineville with 12 points. Kyson Thompson added nine, followed by Brennan Lambert with six, Kenton Brock and Eli Knuckles with two each and Brody Fugate with one.
———
Harlan (72) – Jaxson Perry 12, Izack Saylor 22, Ethan Huff 8, Kobe Noe 8, Legend Mimes 20, Eli Noe 2, Braxton Rowe 0, Caden Mefford 0, Evan Jones 0, Dylan Collins 0, Brayden Lucas 0.
Pineville (54) – Anderson Gentry 10, Jacob Grubbs 8, Brayden Hatmaker 6, Preston Zachery 5, Noah Slone 12, Kenton Brock 11, Eli Knuckles 0, Alvaro Cuadrado 0, Peyton Lawson 0, Broady Fugate 2, Eli McDermott 0.
Harlan 21 13 19 19 – 72
Pineville 16 18 9 11 – 54
—
Monday
Model (70) – Landon Mayo 18, Jayden Bingham 23, Holt Cunningham 10, Riley Mollette 15, John Bowling 4.
Pineville (56) – Jacob Grubbs 10, Preston Zachery 8, Anderson Gentry 13, Eli Knuckles 2, Noah Slone 9, Brayden Hatmaker 4, Kenton Brock 10.

Model 13 17 21 19 – 70
Pineville 10 17 12 17 – 56