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<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON \u2014 North Laurel senior Reece Davidson continued his impressive play at Rupp Arena during Wednesday\u2019s first-round action of the 108th annual UK HealthCare Boys\u2019 Sweet 16 against No. 4 Warren Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After averaging 38.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in last season\u2019s state tournament, Davidson carried that dominance into this year\u2019s event, scoring 20 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from 3-point range and a 5-of-5 effort from the free-throw line. He led the Jaguars to their second straight trip to the Elite Eight with a 52-38 win over the stunned Dragons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Davidson also added six rebounds, two steals, one block, and one assist. Corey Cunagin finished with 11 points and four rebounds, while Kaiden Allen contributed 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Jordan Rawlings scored nine points, knocking down two 3-pointers, and Cooper Elza added two points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a team, No. 10 North Laurel (29-7) shot 17-of-35 from the floor, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range, and went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Defensively, the Jaguars held Warren Central (26-4) to just 14-of-48 shooting and outrebounded the Dragons, 29-23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Laurel will face top-ranked St. Xavier in Friday\u2019s quarterfinals at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSuper-proud of our guys,\u201d North Laurel\u2019s coach Nate Valentine said. \u201cWarren Central, obviously, they\u2019re a program that where we want to be and that\u2019s where we want to get to. They\u2019ve won a state championship, and they\u2019ve played in the finals. Credit to them, they play extremely hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought we had a great week of preparation,\u201d he added. \u201cDefensively, we were really good. Holding them to 29 (percent), and 33 (percent). We just talked about making them take tough shots all night, and being able to rebound the ball, and I thought we did that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Laurel jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead in the first quarter on a Jordan Rawlings 3-pointer with 6:18 remaining. Warren Central responded with a 6-0 run, taking a 9-6 lead behind Karaun Johnson\u2019s 3-pointer at the six-minute mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Free throws by Corey Cunagin followed by a layup from Cunagin tied the game at 9-9 with 3:49 left in the period. Just 20 seconds later, Kaleb Prince knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Dragons a 12-9 advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jaguars rallied over the final three minutes of the quarter, getting a second-chance tip-in from Cooper Elza and two free throws from Davidson to take a 13-12 lead into the second quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A jumper by Kaiden Allen opened the second quarter, pushing the lead to 15-12, but Dominique Anthony answered with a basket to trim it to 15-14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Laurel responded with a 5-0 run, sparked by a Davidson dunk at the 6:29 mark. His layup a minute later made it 19-14, and two free throws extended the lead to 20-14 with 5:22 remaining in the half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a Johnson layup cut the deficit to 20-16, the Jaguars answered again with a 6-0 run despite Davidson picking up his second foul with 3:38 left in the half. Though he sat for two minutes, North Laurel extended its lead to 26-16 at halftime, highlighted by three free throws from Cunagin and a 3-pointer from Allen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defensively, the Jaguars held Warren Central scoreless over the final 4:36 of the second quarter. The Dragons shot just 6-of-21 (28 percent) in the first half, while North Laurel held a 16-13 rebounding edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Laurel shot 8-of-20 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line in the opening half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jaguars continued to control the tempo in the third quarter. Warren Central trimmed the lead to 26-18 just 30 seconds into the half, but Davidson answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 32-19 with 5:22 remaining. A 3-pointer from Rawlings extended the advantage to 35-19 at the 4:08 mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warren Central closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 37-28 entering the fourth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But North Laurel quickly put the game away in the opening minutes of the final period. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Davidson and Allen pushed the lead to 43-28, and another 3 from Rawlings made it 46-30 with 5:29 remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allen\u2019s basket at the 4:38 mark gave the Jaguars their largest lead of the game at 48-30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n