BARBOURVILLE — With Harlan County facing a 23-point deficit midway through the third quarter Thursday at Knox Central, junior guard Trent Cole found his touch just in time to help the Black Bears find some magic on the way to a 79-73 overtime victory.
Cole hit seven of nine shots in he second half as the Bears stormed back, first with a 7-0 run to end the third period. The run reached 15-0 in the fourth quarter, then 28-4 as HC took its first lead on a Reggie Cottrell basket with 2:31 to play. Cole and Cottrell baskets pushed the lead to three before a three-point play by Evan Hubbard tied the game at 72 in the closing seconds of regulation. A Harlan County turnover as time expired forced overtime.
A Cole basket to open overtime put the Bears ahead to stay as HC outscored Knox 7-1 with the help of four free throws from Cole over the final 72 seconds.
Cole finished with 39 points and Cottrell added 19 to lead the 19-10 Bears. Brady Smith had a couple of big plays in overtime and finished with 10 points.
“You look at the scoreboard and you’re down 23, but you just have to keep on pushing,” Cole said. “After a few shots started to fall, I just wanted the ball and tried to get to the rim.”
“Trenton was amazing the whole second half. We went to him and he made some big shots,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones. “Reggie made some big plays, and I also thought Brady Smith made some big instinct plays to get turnovers. I want them to be basketball players and think on their own sometimes. I’m super proud of them. That’s a big win before the district. When you play that hard, good things happen.”
The 15-8 Panthers were led by sophomore guard Evan Hubbard with 21 points and sophomore center Hayden Melton with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Knox dominated the first half by dominating the glass, outrebounding HC 27-12 in the first half and 36-17 through three quarters. Melton had 14 rebounds, including six in the second quarter as the Panthers exploded for 30 points and built a 43-29 lead at the half. The Panthers opened the second half with a 12-3 run.
“That and our transition defense hurt us,” Jones said. “In the first half all five players were jogging back, and they were sprinting (Melton) down the floor. He was shooting layups, and we were playing from behind. Defense was better the second half, and we had some guys make big time plays.”
Harlan County will play Harlan on Tuesday at 7:30 in a first-round game in the 52nd District Tournament at Bell County.
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Knox Central rallied for a 55-53 overtime win in junior varsity action.
Abram Smith scored 20 to lead the Panthers. Andre Simmons and Eli Carey added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Noah Partin tossed in six, followed by Blakely Ellis with four and Kobe Reed and Jaxon Bargo with two each.
Sophomore guard Hayden Grace led the 6-9 Bears with 20 points. Tucker Curtis scored 15. Trey Creech added seven, followed by Andrew Vance with six, Rydge Lewis with three and Tyhler Coots with two.
