LOG MOUNTAIN — Like most Harlan opponents, at least during the second half of the 2026 season, the Harlan County Black Bears focused much of their defensive efforts on sophomore center Kobe Noe and junior forward Legend Mimes.
While they succeeded in keeping the talented post tandem from taking over, the Bears didn’t count on what sophomore guards Ethan Huff and Jaxson Perry would provide. Huff scored 20 points and Perry added 15, taking over down the stretch with ball handling and free throws to send Harlan to a 55-51 victory Tuesday in the first round of the 52nd District Tournament. The win sent Harlan to a matchup Friday against Bell County in the district finals and sent Harlan County to its first district tourney loss since 2022.
“I once had two guys named Desmond Johnson and Garfield Wilson who both scored 20 in the regional tournament the last year we were at Cumberland (2008), but we lost because my guards didn’t score,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said. “We lost twice (to HCHS) when Kobe and Legend did most of the scoring, so we needed our guards to step up and score, and they did. It was a total team effort, but we needed a good performance by Ethan and Jaxson.”
“We worked all week on going under ball screens because we were worried about Noe and Mimes. Those guards hit some 3s early, and it kind of broke our back,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “Our kids did what we told them to. You take your chances. We felt those two were the ones we had to slow down. Credit to their guards for making some shots. They made the shots and kudos to them.”
Akal said the Dragons’ defense also played a huge role in the win. Junior guard Trent Cole was limited to six points as Dylan Cox, Izack Saylor and Mimes took turns chasing him most of the night. The Bears shot only 23 percent (seven of 31) through the first three quarters before Reggie Cottrell led a late charge with seven baskets in the fourth quarter.
“We talked about trying to keep (Trent) Cole and Reggie under 35 combined,” Akal said. “We wanted to keep them off the free throw line. Reggie lit us up earlier in the year. We wanted to throw multiple guys at (Cole) and make him work for the ball.
Harlan broke a three-game 52nd District Tournament losing streak with the win and ended a 10-game losing streak against Harlan County stretching back to Feb. 8, 2022.
Both teams struggled to score through the first three quarters. Harlan County led 8-7 after one period before Harlan moved ahead 19-16 at the break. The Bears hit only two of 11 shots in the third period while Harlan connected on four of seven to extend its lead to 30-23.
Harlan County closed to within three on baskets by Cottrell and Landon Brock to start the fourth period, but Harlan responded as Perry and Huff teamed for all of the Dragons’ points in a 16-8 run to push the lead to 46-35 with 1:23 to play.
“We talked all week about getting off to a good start, and we didn’t,” Jones said. “Harlan played well tonight and made free throws. I never thought the game was over with two minutes left. I kept saying they’d miss some free throws, but they didn’t.”
Senior guard Reggie Cottrell scored 27 points in his final game with the Bears after three years as a starter, including the 2024 squad that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen finals. Cottrell hit eight of 11 shots in the fourth quarter as he helped cut the deficit to three with 1.1 seconds left.
“Reggie is a competitor. I really have respect for him,” Akal said. “He refused to go away. When he fouled out with 1.1 seconds left, I was happy, because I told our coaches he would make a fullcourt 3 if Kobe missed those free throws.”
“I hate it for our seniors, but they’ve had a good ride,” Jones said. “I told the ones coming back we’d take a couple of weeks off and then get in the weight room and start over.”