CORBIN — After Harlan battled back to tie the game midway through the third quarter with a 6-0 run, defending 13th Region champion North Laurel responded with a decisive run to take control and defeat the Green Dragons 49-36 in the opening round of the 13th Region Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Thursday at The Arena.
The Jaguars improved to 27-7 on the season while the Green Dragons finished their year at 12-20.
“I’m proud of our guys for continuing to fight tonight,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “We had to grind that one out on the defensive end. I thought we kept composure when they made their run to start the second half. We are excited to be back in the semifinal game on Saturday.”
Harlan tied the contest at 26-26 with 6:59 remaining in the third quarter when Izack Saylor scored to tie the game.
From that point on, North Laurel seized momentum.
Cooper Elza broke the tie with a 3-pointer at the 5:36 mark to give the Jaguars a 29-26 lead. Moments later, Reece Davidson pushed the lead to five with a put-back before Corey Cunagin added another basket to extend the advantage to 33-26.
Davidson then went to the free-throw line and calmly knocked down two shots with 2:03 left in the third quarter to give North Laurel a 35-26 lead.
Harlan briefly stopped the run when Legend Mimes scored to cut the deficit to 35-28 late in the quarter, but the Jaguars answered again to start the fourth.
Cam Anderson buried a 3-pointer early in the final period to stretch the North Laurel lead to 38-28, and the Jaguars maintained control the rest of the way.
Davidson led North Laurel with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Cunagin added 14 points. Kaiden Allen finished with six points and Elza chipped in six.
Harlan was led by Saylor with 14 points while Mimes added 12.
North Laurel held a 22-14 advantage on the boards and converted 11-of-11 free throws in the game to help secure the win.
