LEXINGTON — North Laurel moved one step closer in capturing the White, Greer, Maggard Holiday Classic championship by slipping past No. 26 Bryan Station on Sunday.
The state’s 14th ranked team, rallied from a 42-36 third quarter deficit to advance to Monday’s semifinals, defeating the Defenders, 55-52.
The Jaguars are now 3-1 against teams ranked in the top 30, and will face-off against No 6 Daviess County at 8 p.m.
“Very happy for our guys tonight,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “We made it ugly again but they grinded through it and found a way to make winning plays. We showed a lot of fight tonight in the second half.”
North Laurel trailed 16-9 after the first quarter, and 23-21 at halftime before Bryan Station increased its lead to 42-36 entering the fourth quarter.
Reece Davidson took over in the fourth quarter, scoring nine points while hitting all five free throws attempts. Kaiden Allen hit a key 3-pointer, and scored six points, helping the Jaguars outscore the Defenders, 19-10, in the finals eight minutes to grab the win.
Davidson led North Laurel with 22 points while Corey Cunagin added 11 points, and Cooper Elza scored nine points. Allen finished with six points.
