Dragons coast past Middlesboro in home opener

December 15, 2021

 

CJ+-+Akal+passing+vs+Middlesboro
Gallery • 3 Photos
Chris Jones
Harlan senior guard Jordan Akal delivered a pass on Tuesday in the Dragons' 67-25 rout of visiting Middlesboro.

 

Harlan 67, Middlesboro 25

MIDDLESBORO (2-3)
Cayden Grigsby 2-10 0-0 5, Braydon Barnard 2-8 0-0 4, Caleb Bogonko 2-4 0-0 4, Trey Kyle 0-4 0-0 0, Jay West 2-6 2-2 6, Trey King 0-3 4-6 4, Bryce Bowling 0-3 0-0 0. Jerimah Beck 0-1 0-0 0, Richie Logan 1-2 0-0 2, Ashton Osborne 0-1 0-0 0, Peyton Turner 00 0-0 0. Totals: 9-42 6-8 25.
HARLAN (3-1)
Jordan Akal 7-13 4-4 21, Kyler McLendon 3-5 0-0 7, Kaleb McLendon 6-12 2-3 20, Jaedyn Gist 3-10 2-2 8, Will Austin 2-4 2-2 6, Derek Pruitt 0-0 0-0 0, Johann Gist 0-1 0-0 0, John Mark Bryson 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Pennington 1-2 0-0 2, Darius Akal 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Montanaro 1-6 1-2 3, Kelson Napier 0-1 0-0 0, Cameron Maples 0-1 0-0 0, Tristan Burgan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-55 11-13 67.

Middlesboro 10 8 1 6 – 25
Harlan 18 29 15 5 – 67
3-point goals: Middlesboro 1-19 (Grigsby 1-6, King 0-1, Bowling 0-1, Logan 0-1, Bogonko 0-2, West 0-2, Bernard 0-3, Kyle 0-3); Harlan 10-29 (Kaleb McLendon 6-10, J. Akal 3-9, Kyler McLendon 1-3, Austin 0-1, Johann Gist 0-1, Napier 0-1, Maples 0-1, Jaedyn Gist 0-3). Rebounds: Middlesboro 19 (Grigsby 4, King 4); Harlan 39 (Jaedyn Gist 15, Kaleb McLendon 6, Austin 5, J. Akal 4, Bryson 3, Pennington 1, Kyler McLendon 1, Pruitt 1, D. Akal 1, Montanaro 1, Napier 1. Assists: Middlesboro 4 (Grigsby 3), Harlan 12 (J. Akal 6). Turnovers: Middlesboro 17, Harlan 8.

 

 

The Harlan Green Dragons played at home for the first time this season on Tuesday and didn’t disappoint the home crowd.
Harlan used a 29-8 outburst in the second quarter to put the game away, rolling to a 67-25 win.
Senior guard Jordan Akal and junior guard Kaleb McLendon combined for 41 points on the night. Akal poured in 21 while McLendon nailed six 3-pointers to finish with 20 points. Jaedyn Gist scored eight points and grabbed 15 rebounds.
Middlesboro shot 21 percent from the field, hitting nine of 42 attempts while committing 17 turnovers.
The Yellow Jackets got six points from senior center Jay West. Caleb Grigsby scored five.
Both teams opened the game with scoring runs. Middlesboro scored the first four points and the Dragons had two jumpers from Will Austin to make it 7-4 with 3:58 remaining in the first quarter.
Caleb Bogonko, Brayden Bernard and Trey King each scored as the Yellow Jackets led 10-7. McLendon tied the game at 10 and put Harlan ahead for good with another trey at the 1:33 mark. The Green Dragons led 18-10 after one period.
Austin opened the second quarter with four points. Akal knocked down five points and McLendon scored four to extend the margin to 31-13 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
Led by Akal with nine points, the Dragons closed the period with a 16-5 run and led 47-18 at halftime.
Harlan opened the third quarter by scoring 15 unanswered points. Akal tossed in seven points while the McLendon brother each hit a 3-pointer.
Middlesboro (2-3) takes on Cordia in the D.J. Begley Classic at Hazard on Saturday. Harlan (3-1) travels to Pikeville on Friday and meets Perry Central at Hazard on Saturday.