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On a night when the shots weren’t falling for most of the Black Bears, senior guard Taylor Spurlock made certain that Harlan County still was able to open its season with a victory.

Spurlock scored 34 points, hitting 14 of 22 shots from the field, as the Bears claimed a 61-53 win Tuesday at Breathitt County.

“On a night where we didn’t play well offensively as a team, Taylor did and he carried us,” Harlan County coach Michael Jones said. “Taylor showed tonight why he deserves to be mentioned as one of the top players in the region/state.”

Junior guard Tyler Cole added 12 points for the Bears, while junior forward Josh Turner contributed seven points and seven rebounds.

Jack Fugate scored 22 points to lead Breathitt County. The Bobcats are the seventh-ranked team in the 14th Region, according to the Carts Pause.

Fugate hit two 3-pointers as the Bobcats went up 14-12 after one quarter. The Bears bounced back in the second quarter as Spurlock scored nine points to help HCHS build a 31-23 halftime lead.

Breathitt fought back to pull even at 40-40 going into the final period.

Spurlock scored 11 points and Cole added eight as HCHS outscored Breathitt 21-13 in the fourth quarter. The Bears hit seven of nine at the line in the period.

Harlan County returns to action Friday, taking on Perry Central at Hazard.

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Breathitt County scored in the closing seconds to edge Harlan County 50-48 in junior varsity action.

Austin Sperry scored 16 and Andrew Combs added 12 to lead the Bobcats.

James Gray led the 1-1 Bears with 15 points. Jeremiah Clem chipped in with 12. Josh Swanner tossed in eight. Daniel Carmical added five. Josh Sergent scored four. Tristan Cooper and Dalton Hicks added two each.

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Harlan County 61, Breathitt County 53

HARLAN COUNTY (1-0)

Trent Noah 1-9 4-8 7, Taylor Spurlock 14-22 4-6 34, Jackson Huff 0-4 0-0 0, Tyler Cole 4-10 2-3 12, Jacob Wilson 0-5 1-2 1, Josh Turner 3-4 0-0 7. Totals: 22-54 11-19 61.

BREATHITT COUNTY (0-1)

Luke Bellamy 3 0-0 8, Tyler Christy 1 1-2 3, Jack Fugate 8 0-0 22, Braxton O’Hara 4 2-2 10, Jaylen Turner 3 1-2 7, Ty Carter 1 0-2 3. Totals: 20 4-8 53.

Harlan County 12 19 9 21 — 61

Breathitt County 14 9 17 13 — 53

3-point goals: Harlan County 6-27 (Spurlock 2-5, Cole 2-5, Noah 1-7, Turner 1-2), Breathitt County 9 (Fugate 6, Bellamy 2, Carter 1). Rebounds: Harlan County 33 (Spurlock 8, Noah 7, Turner 7, Cole 5, Wilson 5, Huff 1).