CORBIN — North Laurel is one win away from defending its regional crown.
The Jaguars used a balanced offensive attack and strong defensive effort Saturday afternoon to defeat Corbin 66-46 in the semifinals of the 13th Region Boys’ Basketball Tournament at The Arena.
With the win, North Laurel improved to 27-7 and moved one step closer to repeating as 13th Region champions for the second time in five years.
North Laurel set the tone early, jumping out to a 15-5 lead after the first quarter behind strong perimeter shooting and defensive pressure. The Jaguars continued to control the game in the second quarter and extended the lead to 33-13 at halftime.
Corbin showed life in the third quarter, outscoring North Laurel 18-14 in the period, but the Jaguars answered with a strong fourth quarter to pull away for the 20-point victory.
“I’m really happy for our players,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “I thought we did a good job defensively making things tough on Corbin early. We played with alot of desire and got off to a good start and we were able to get some separation. Im excited for our guys to have an opportunity to play in the finals on Monday.”
Reece Davidson led North Laurel with 21 points while Jordan Rawlings added 12 points. Corey Cunagin contributed 15 points and Kaiden Allen finished with 11 points for the Jaguars.
Eli Pietrowski led Corbin with 19 points, while Evan Ellis added 11 points for the Redhounds.
“Certainly proud of my team for their season,” Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said. “We showed a lot of moxie to continue to buy in and improve. We had a very special run late in the year. North’s size really bothered us. The fact they shot it so well on top of that made it very difficult.
“Can’t say enough great things about Lucas and Eli,” he added. “I’ve coached these two since they could walk. They have had special careers at Corbin and should be very proud.”
North Laurel shot 52 percent from the floor and forced several key turnovers while controlling the tempo throughout the contest.
The Jaguars will now advance to the 13th Region championship game Monday night at 7 p.m., where they will face Bell County.
Monday’s title game will feature an interesting coaching storyline as North Laurel coach Nate Valentine and Bell County coach Brad Sizemore — former teammates at South Laurel — square off for the regional crown. The duo previously helped lead the Cardinals to the 2001 12th Region championship.
