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By Paul Lunsford

Contributing Writer

The Corbin Redhounds may have picked up its most significant win following a 61-53 victory over Harlan County in the 13th Region Tournament opener last Thursday at The Arena in Corbin.

The Redhounds (23-7) led from the beginning against one of the state’s top-ranked teams and a team with the most wins in the region, the Black Bears (26-7).

“Extremely proud of my team,” Corbin head coach Tony Pietrowski said. “Thought we played some excellent defense, rebounded it well and attacked them well on offense. Hayden (Llewellyn), Carter (Stewart), Zander (Curry) and Kade (Elam) had to guard their trio of guards most of the night. They did it excellently. Eli (Pietrowski) really stepped up tonight. I’m very proud of the way he played. Didn’t look a freshman out there tonight.”

Freshman guard Eli Pietrowski powered the Hounds with 20 points. Carter Stewart tossed in 11 points while fishing out eight assists. Zander Curry added nine points and seven rebounds. Brody

Wells finished with eight points and five rebounds. Hayden Llewellyn was held to six points.

Corbin shot 46 percent on 21 of 46 from the floor. The Redhounds outrebounded Harlan County 27-21. The Black Bears hit 17 of 49 shots for 35 percent. HC was just five of 24 from 3-point range.

“They controlled the pace early. We had our opportunities,” said Harlan County coach Kyle Jones. “They played a great game defensively. They were really physical and made it tough on us. We missed shots.”

Sophomore guard Maddox Huff paced Harlan County with 23 points. Trent Noah scored 22 and pulled down ten rebounds. Jonah Swanner tossed in four points. Caleb Johnson and Reggie Cottrell each added two. Daniel Carmical and Jaycee Carter were held scoreless.

Huff joined the school’s 1,000-point club and is currently tied with Carmical with 1,002 points.

Corbin led 10-6 after one quarter and 19-14 at halftime. The Bears were just four of 20 shooting in the first half.

The Redhounds took a 38-34 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Both teams turned up the offense in the final period as Corbin outscored Harlan County 28-24 in the quarter.

Corbin is now 87-55 all-time in the 13th Region Tournament, while the Black Bears fall to 8-11.