LEXINGTON — North Laurel’s journey in the 107th UK HealthCare KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16 Tournament came to an end on Friday during the quarterfinals, falling to Montgomery County, 69-66.
The Jaguars (23-11) held their own the entire game, only trailing 54-52 as they entered the fourth quarter.
The Indians (24-10) began to pull away in the final period, but the Jaguars had one final rally, cutting their deficit to two points with six seconds left.
“First off, we are blessed to be in this position, to be playing here today,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “I told our guys there is nothing to hang their heads about, they played great. You shoot 62 percent and get beat, you’ve got to give Montgomery County credit. They turned us over 19 times. That’s very hard in a tournament like this. You can’t turn the ball over 19 times in the state tournament and win.
“But I’m still proud of these guys,” he added. “To shoot 50 percent from the free-throw line, all of that, and you still have a chance to win.”
Junior Reece Davidson, who earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, had an impressive performance, scoring 41 points and recording 10 rebounds, four blocks, four steals, and one assist in the loss.
His 41-point effort ranks fifth all-time for a player from the 13th Region, according to the KHSAA Record Book, trailing only Richie Farmer of Clay County (51), Trent Noah of Harlan County (48), Russ Chadwell of Clay County (43), and Bo Roaden of Corbin (42).
Throughout the tournament, Davidson tallied a total of 77 points and 19 rebounds, averaging 38.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and three blocks per game.
“An unbelievable performance,” Valentine said. “A star was born this week in Reece Davidson. Scoring 41 points, scoring 36 — average players don’t do that, he’s elite, and we’ve kept it about the team all year. Reece is an elite player. His trend line, he might not be the best player in the state right now, but his trend line, he going to surpass that, if he hasn’t, very quickly. That’s an unbelievable performance by him.
“Normal guys don’t get 41 and 36 in the state tournament,” Valentine continued. “The way he shot the ball, the way he played the point, and with his size and ability to pass the ball — he played outstanding with three to four guys on him. He absolutely carried us this week.”
After only turning the ball over twice during their opening round win over Breathitt County, the Jaguars were their own worst enemies, turning the ball over 19 times while hitting on only 6-of-12 shot attempts from the free-throw line.
Kole Jervis scored nine points while RJ Noble finished with six points. Jordan Rawlings and Cooper Elza each scored four points apiece while Corey Cunagin finished with two points.
North Laurel shot 28-of-46 from the floor, and 4-of-11 from 3-point range, and outrebounded the Indians, 30-20.
Cayden Reed led Montgomery County with 29 points while Luke Fawns scored 17 points and Tyce Jarvis finished with 14 points.
The Indians hit 24-of-56 shot attempts, including a 10-of-25 effort from 3-point range. They also hit 11-of-15 free throw attempts.
Both teams failed to score in the game’s first minute and a half until Davidson hit a 3-pointer to give the Jaguars a 3-0 lead. Jervis and Elza followed with layups to give North Laurel a 7-0 edge.
Montgomery County scored its first points, a 3-pointer, with 5:11 remaining in the opening period.
The Indians used a 10-0 run to take an 18-13 lead but North Laurel closed the quarter out with baskets by Cunagin, and Davidson.
The Jaguars shot 8-of-12 in the first quarter with Davidson scoring nine points while blocking three shots.
Reed and Fawn scored nine points apiece for Montgomery County while the Indians shot 6-of-16 from the floor.
Both teams continued to trade baskets in the second quarter, but North Laurel, behind the play of Davidson, took a 34-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Davidson scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting while pulling down four rebounds and blocking four shots. Jervis added six points while Noble had four points.
The Jaguars hit 15-of-25 shot attempts from the floor, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. They also out-rebounded Montgomery County, 15-12.
Reed led the Indians with 16 points while hitting 6-of-9 shot attempts. He also had three assists. Fawns added 12 points while hitting 4-of-5 from behind the arc.
Montgomery County hit 11-of-29 shot attempts from the floor, including going 7-of-13 from 3-point territory.
Baskets by Noble and Davidson gave North Laurel a 39-34 edge early in the third quarter, but consecutive dunks by the Jarvis combined with a layup gave Montgomery County a 42-41 advantage.
Jervis followed with an old-fashioned 3-pointer with 4:32 left in the quarter to give his team a 44-42 lead.
The Indians continued to battle and used an 8-0 run, highlighted by Jarvis’ old-fashioned 3-point play, and took a 50-44 lead with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
North Laurel managed to cut its deficit to only two points at the end of the quarter thanks to three baskets by Davidson. The Jaguars entered the fourth quarter trailing 52-50 after hitting 7-of-10 shot attempts in the third quarter.
Montgomery County held a 56-53 advantage with 4:17 remaining but a 3-pointer by Dunn pushed the Indians’ lead to 59-53 with 3:55 left.
The Indians maintained the lead the remainder of the game, but not before North Laurel made one final rally.
