HINDMAN — The North Laurel Jaguars rallied late and pulled away in overtime to defeat Hazard, 54-43, on Friday night, advancing to Saturday’s championship game of the WYMT Mountain Classic.
North Laurel improves to 4-1 on the season with the win.
“I’m really proud of our guys for that win,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “Credit to Hazard for making things really tough on us. I thought we did a better job trusting each other in the second half.
“We got great defensive minutes from our bench,” he added. “This is a great learning experience for us and we are excited to be in the championship game.”
Hazard controlled much of the first half, jumping out to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and extending the advantage to 25-19 at halftime. The Bulldogs continued to dictate the pace in the third quarter and held a 34-31 lead entering the final period.
North Laurel responded in the fourth quarter behind Jordan Rawlings, who scored seven of his team-high 18 points in the frame. The Jaguars battled back to force overtime tied at 43-all.
Once in overtime, it was all North Laurel. The Jaguars dominated on both ends of the floor, outscoring Hazard 11-0 to secure the victory. Reece Davidson scored four points in the extra session while Cooper Elza added three as North Laurel pulled away.
Rawlings finished with 18 points for the Jaguars, knocking down four 3-pointers in the game. Elza added 15 points, Davidson chipped in nine, and RJ Noble finished with eight points.
