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During the regular season, Kaleb McLendon and his twin brother Kyler McLendon combined to nail 12  3-pointers, on Tuesday, the two combined for six apiece as the Harlan Green Dragons defeated Middlesboro 75-40 in the first round of the 52nd District Tournament held at Bell County High School.

“Kyler has been shooting really well lately. He just doesn’t take enough of them. Kaleb is one of the top 3-point shooters at around 40 percent,” said Harlan coach Derrick Akal.

Kyler McLendon finished with 22 points and Kaleb McLendon added 18 as the Dragons improved to 22-9 on the season. Jordan Akal scored 17 points.

Freshman guard Brayden Barnard paced the Yellow Jackets, with 11 points. Braden Ellison and Jay Tyler West each scored six for Middlesboro (9-22).

Harlan raced to a 28-10 lead after one quarter as each McLendon hit four 3-pointers and the Jackets turned the ball over seven times.

Middlesboro had 10 more turnovers in the second quarter as the Harlan lead reached 53-13.

The Green Dragons outscored the Jackets 19-7 in the third period and took a 68-25 advantage.

Harlan outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 27-17. Jaedyn Gist and Kyler McLendon led the Dragons with six boards each. West had four for Middlesboro.

The Jackets finished the contest with 22 turnovers. Since losing sophomore guard Cayden Grigsby to a season-ending illness, following a Jan. 25 two-point loss to visiting Whitley County, Middlesboro went 2-9 to close the season.

The Yellow Jackets defeated Pineville and Red Bird twice this season and claimed a huge win over Williamsburg on Jan. 4. Middlesboro went through an eight-game losing streak late in the season. The Jackets also earned two Covid-19 forfeit wins.

Middlesboro had a 5-18 record within the 13th Region and were 0-7 against district opponents.

Harlan advanced to play Bell County for the district title on Friday.

MIDDLESBORO (9-22)
Brayden Barnard 4-6 0-0 11, Jayden Schertz 0-3 2-2 2, Braden Ellison 2-6 0-0 6, Trey Kyle 0-3 1-2 1, Jay Tyler West 3-5 0-0 6, Trey King 0-2 0-0 0, Caleb Bogonko 1-2 0-0 2, Jeremiah Beck 1-2 1-2 3, Ashton Osborne 2-2 1-1 5, Richie Logan 0-0 0-0 0, Peyton Turner 1-1 0-0 2, Jackson Thomas 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 15-34 5-7 40.

HARLAN (22-9)
Jordan Akal 6-10 5-5 17, Kyler McLendon 7-14 2-2 22, Kaleb McLendon 6-10 0-0 18, Jaedyn Gist 2-6 1-5 5, Will Austin 4-7 1-1 9, John Mark Bryson 0-2 0-0 0, Johann Gist 0-1 0-0 0, Nate Montanaro 0-1 2-2 2, Matthew Pennington 0-0 2-2 2, Derek Pruitt 0-1 0-0 0, Darius Akal 0-0 0-0 0, Cameren Maples 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-52 13-17 75.

MHS 10 8 7 15 — 40
HHS 28 25 15 7 — 75
3-point goals: Middlesboro 5-13 (Barnard 3-5, Ellison 2-5, Schertz 0-1, West 0-1, Bogonko 0-1), Harlan 12-30 (Kaleb McLendon 6-10, Kyler McLendon 6-11, Jaedyn Gist 0-1, Johann Gist 0-1, Montanaro 0-1, Bryson 0-2, Akal 0-4).
Rebounds: Middlesboro 17 (West 4, Logan 3, King 2, Bogonko 2, Thomas 2, Schertz 1, Ellison 1 Kyle 1, Beck 1), Harlan 27 (Kyler McLendon 6, Jaedyn Gist 6, Kaleb McLendon 4, Austin 4, Akal 3, Montanaro 2, Bryson 1, Pruitt 1).
Turnovers: Middlesboro 22, Harlan 7.

Sports contributor Paul Lunsford wrote this story for the Harlan Enterprise.