LONDON — An 11-day layoff didn’t keep Jeff Davis’ South Laurel Cardinals from turning in one of their best efforts of the season on Monday.
South Laurel handed Harlan County a 74-37 loss, which turned out to be the Black Bears’ lowest point output in 244 games — when the Cardinals limited Harlan County to 31 points in first round action of the 2018 13th Region Tournament.
“Thought we played a pretty well for being off so long,” Davis said. “We moved the ball decently and guarded OK. We just have to keep grinding and get better in all areas.”
The Cardinals controlled the game from the get-go as Kaiden McQueen’s seven-point effort in the first quarter allowed them to take a 16-9 lead into the second quarter.
Kaden Taylor hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points in the second quarter while Isiah Robinson added seven points as South Laurel took a 40-18 edge into the locker room at halftime.
Five points by Taylor and four points by Garrison Brown in the third quarter allowed the Cardinals to put the game out of reach in the third quarter.
Eleven players scored in the win for South Laurel as Taylor scored 13 points, Robinson added 12 points, and McQueen finished with 11 points.
Hayden Grace led Harlan County with nine points while Reggie Cottrell added eight points. Brady Smith finished with seven points.
