Harlan captured the championship of the Monticello Bank Classic on Wednesday at Wayne County by knocking off the defending Class A champion in Tennessee, edging Clay County 56-54.
The victory was the sixth straight for the Dragons and the third win by three points or less in three games this week as Harlan improved to 9-4 overall.
Senior guard Jordan Akal scored 25 points to lead the Dragons.
Senior point guard Grant Strong scored 21 points to lead the 8-4 Bulldogs, who posted a 30-2 record a year ago in winning a state title. Keaton Arms, a junior forward, added 13 points.
Harlan will be at home on Tuesday to take on Pikeville, the 15th Region’s top-ranked team.
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Harlan (56) — Jordan Akal 25, Kyler McLendon 6, Will Austin 9, Kaleb McLendon Jaedyn Gist 6, Matthew Pennington 2, Johann Gist 0.
Clay County, Tenn. (54) — Jimmy Burchett 9, Jeff Spivey 8, Grant Strong 21, Keaton Arms 13, Andrew Smith 3.

Harlan 14 17 12 13 — 56
Clay County, Tenn. 13 17 16 8 — 54
3-point goals: Harlan 7 (Akal 3, Kyler McLendon 2, Kaleb McLendon 2), Clay County, Tenn. 5 (Spivey 2, Strong 2, Burchett 1, Smith 1).