CORBIN — While the destination changed, the results were much the same for the Bell County Bobcats in the first round of the 13th Region Tournament on Thursday at the Corbin Arena. Bell built on a pair of overtime wins last week over Harlan County and Harlan in the 52nd District Tournament with a 57-45 victory over Corbin to advance to Saturday afternoon’s final four.
The Bobcats followed a similar game plan as they controlled the tempo for the most part, then turned the game over to junior guard Dawson Woolum down the stretch. Woolum, last week’s tournament most valuable player, scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter after Corbin had pulled within two on a Hayden Llewellyn three-point play with 5:42 remaining. Woolum sliced through the Hounds’ defense for four baskets in the final five minutes while connecting on five of six at the line.
“We did a super job on him in the first half and pretty good in the third quarter, but we had to change some things up when we got down and it seemed we couldn’t play at the pace we had been playing and he was able to do what he does,” Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said. “Hats off to him. He kind of took over in the fourth quarter.”
“He didn’t let the game come to him early and to Corbin’s credit they got in his way. I thought we forced a couple of shots,” Bell County coach Brad Sizemore said. “But this big a court plays in his favor. He picks his spots going to the rim and he was able to do that. He got downhill and he’s so strong off two feet and hit some huge buckets and got us that lead.”
Senior forward Cameron Burnett added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who improved to 25-5 with their third straight tournament wins over teams ranked ahead of them in the preseason polls.
“I’m happy for these kids because this is what they wanted to do,” Sizemore said. “I told several people it’s a compliment to our district. The Harlan teams, it’s been brutal the last three years, and we finally got over the hump. The only pressure we put on our team was to get by that first game in the district. Now we’re on house money, and we’ll relax tonight and get ready for what will be the hardest game of the season.”
The 22-9 Hounds, runner-up in the 50th District, were led by Lwewellyn with 13 points and junior forward Brody Wells with 10 points.
The game was tied 9-9 after one quarter and Bell took a 19-18 lead at halftime on a free throw by Burnett after holding the ball most of the last two minutes. Bell hit only six of 20 shots in the first half and was outrebounded 16-7 but stayed close with the help of senior guard Cole Hoskins hitting three of four attempts from behind the 3-point line.
“Our number one focus coming down here was to be in a close game at halftime. We didn’t know what to expect because this is the first time this group has made it here to play. Corbin Is too good and too well-coached for us to be down eight to 10 and to come back. We wanted to be very patient and not take early shots in the possession,” Sizemore said. “They hurt us the first half on the boards. I thought we did a better job rebounding in the second half and Dawson and Cameron relaxed and played the second half going to the basket. Probably the unsung hero for the game was Hoskins coming in the first half and hitting three 3s. He kept us right there, but it was a group effort. I thought all of our guys played well defensively, especially the second half.”
While Bell features a veteran lineup, Corbin was among the region’s youngest teams this season with no senior starters.
“We have a nucleus of kids back, but we have to learn from this,” Pietrowski said. “I like our talent level and I like our work ethic. We have to get better in some areas. I though we panicked a few times and lost our composure. We’re not very good when we don’t pass the ball. It’s hard with a loss with young kids, but we have to grow from this and be a better team because of it next season.”
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Bell County 57, Corbin 45
Bell County (57) — Carter McCune 3, Dawson Woolum 18, Dalton Stepp 8, Hayden Callebs 5, Cole Hoskins 9, Cameron Burnett 14.
Corbin (45) — Hayden Llewellyn 13, Zander Curry 4, Trey Worley 7, Carter Stewart 9, Brody Wells 10, Eli Pietrowski 2, Jonathon Jackson 0, Kade Elam 0.

Corbin 9 9 8 19 — 45
Bell County 9 10 15 23 — 57