LEXINGTON — No. 7-ranked North Laurel faced a test from the opening tip Tuesday, and despite a 21-point effort from standout senior Reece Davidson, the Jaguars couldn’t find their rhythm in a 59-48 loss to No. 21 Lexington Catholic.
The Jaguars struggled to get on track offensively while the Knights controlled the glass and gradually pulled away in the second half.
“I hate that we came away with a loss but I think we can use tonight to learn about things we need to work on,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “They exposed a lot of things that we do very poorly. That’s a tough game to open the season on the road. We aren’t ready to win a game like that on road at this point in the season.”
North Laurel trailed 14-11 after the first quarter and 28-22 at halftime before Lexington Catholic pushed its lead to 44-35 entering the fourth.
North Laurel was outscored 15-13 in the final eight minutes as the Knights sealed the win behind a balanced scoring attack.
Everett Stuart paced Lexington Catholic with 17 points, while Max Maghea added nine and Jacob Holland chipped in eight.
Jordan Rawlings knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to 13 points for the Jaguars. Cooper Elza and Corey Cunagin each scored six, while Braydon Hampton added three.
North Laurel will be back in action Friday at home against South Laurel. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
