CORBIN — The third time turned out to be the charm for the North Laurel Jaguars.
After dropping two regular season meeting with Corbin, the Jaguars got revenge by handing the Redhounds a 66-41 loss during first round action of Wednesday’s 13th Region Boys’ Tournament.
Kole Jervis, North Laurel’s lone senior, extended his high school career for at least another game, led the way with 20 points and six 3-pointers while Jordan Rawlings knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. Cooper Elza had 10 points seven assists, and six rebounds while had five points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
“I’m incredibly proud of our players tonight,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “Corbin is a really tough matchup for us but I thought our guys did a really good job stepping up and making plays and doing a good job on the defensive end. We are excited to get back to work for Saturday.”
Connor Middleton finished with 10 points for the Redhounds while Ryder Akins scored nine points. Dawson Farmer and Evan Ellis scored seven points apiece.
“Disappointing way to end our season,” Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said. “We had two good days of practice and I felt like we would play better than we did this evening.
“Hate to see these three seniors go,” he added. “They have really embodied the Redhound Pride that we care about so much. In a day and age so many want things instantly, they put in a lot of work to be successful contributors to our program. They should hold their heads high.”
Corbin came out of the gates hitting two straight 3-pointers to take a quick 6-0 lead, but North Laurel began to chip away and managed to go on a 19-8 run to take a 19-14 edge into the second quarter.
Kole Jervis’ 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Jaguars momentum entering the second quarter.
North Laurel continued to play at a torrid pace in the second quarter, outscoring the Redhounds, 18-7, while taking a 37-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Jaguars were led by Cooper Elza’s 10 points and four assists in the first half while Jervis and Jordan Rawlings scored nine points apiece.
Dawson Farmer and Evan Ellis led Corbin with five points apiece.
The Jaguars shot 14-of-30 from the floor in the first half, including an 8-of-16 effort from 3-point range. The Redhounds shot 7-of-23 from the floor and 3-of-12 from 3-point territory.
Jervis remained red-hot, hitting three straight 3-pointers to open the second half while extending North Laurel’s lead to 46-26.
Corbin cut its deficit to 46-31 after five straight points from Eli Pietrowski, but the Jaguars closed the quarter out with a 10-0 run to put the game out of reach.
