The Harlan County Bulls won three of five games and finished third in the U.S. Amateur National Championships (third-grade division) over the weekend in Knoxville.
The Bulls won two of three in pool competition, falling 42-15 to We Got Buckets (Tenn.) before defeating TN Swish 30-11 and Team STAG (Ga.) 37-14.
Harlan County fell 41-40 to Team Took (Tenn.) on a last-second shot in the semifinals before defeating Team Fly (Fla.} in the third-place game.
“When we started this thing three years ago, we literally only had a kid or two who could dribble all the way down the court against a defense,” said Harlan County Bulls coach Eddie Creech. “To see the growth in this bunch speaks volumes about how much time and work they have dedicated to the game. Beating the Atlanta team to get in to the final four and then ending with a win over a talented Florida to secure third place was an awesome feat for our Harlan County bunch.”
This concludes a long season which included 14 tournament titles and 82-31 overall record. The Bulldogs played AAU teams from Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida.