Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

For more local sports coverage, visit our partners at Harlan County Sports.

By John Henson

Contributing Sports Writer

Harlan County completed an impressive run at the Arby’s Classic in Bristol with a 73-65 win over South Shore, N.Y., to capture fifth place in the 18-team tournament. The Bears won three of four games in the tournament with their only loss coming against eventual champ Kell, Ga.

Senior guard Trent Noah and junior guard Maddox Huff teamed for 58 points as both earned all-tournament honors. Noah finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds, hitting 16 of 17 at the line as the Bears held off a South Shore comeback attempt by hitting 26 of 27 free throws as a team. Huff hit six 3-pointers in a 28-point effort.

Kevin Kearney scored 16 points and Sincere Folk added 12 to lead South Shore.

The 13-2 Bears will face two tough tests next week at Corbin, taking on the Redounds on Friday and defending 13th Region champ North Laurel on Saturday.

Georgia squad knocks off HCHS in Arby’s Classic quarterfinals

The Harlan County Black Bears traveled to Bristol, Tenn., this week for the Arby’s Classic to face some of the nation’s best high school basketball teams.

They did just that Friday in a 93-68 loss to Kell, the defending 5A champions in Georgia.

Harlan County took a 20-18 lead after one quarter, but Kell built an eight-point lead by halftime and extended it to 64-43 after three quarters.

C.J. Brown led Kell with 28 points.

Maddox Huff scored 23 and Trent Noah added 19 for the Bears.

Carter’s double-double helps Bears knock off Virginia power in Arby’s Classic

In addition to playing some high-level basketball opponents this week in the Arby’s Classic, the Harlan County Black Bears get a daily geography lesson as the only Kentucky squad in an 18-team tournament that features teams from around the nation.

After a win against Oak Ridge (Tennessee) to start the tournament, the Bears were dropped into the consolation bracket by Kell, the 5A champion in Georgia last season. The Bears bounced back Friday with an 80-72 win over George Wythe, the Class 1 state runner up in Virginia last season, to earn a showdown against South Shore, N.Y, on Saturday in the tournament’s fifth-place game.

After watching George Wythe knock off South Carolina power Dorman on Wednesday and then push Mentor, Ohio, to the final seconds before falling 96-95, HCHS coach Kyle Jones knew his squad’s defense would face a stiff test. The Bears responded by holding George Wythe to 29 percent shooting (9 of 31) in the first half to build a 14-point halftime lead.

“They are hard to guard. They do a lot of five-out stuff and they have five guys who can get to the rim, so it was a challenge for us. They are a lot deeper than us, so I’m really proud of these guys,” Jones said.

The 12-2 Bears were also helped by a career night from Jaycee Carter, who finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds.

“People have to guard him. He has worked on his game and his body and he’s got a lot quicker. If you don’t guard him, he’s making people pay,” Jones said of his junior center.

“I just try to play my hardest,” Carter said. “Trent (Noah) and Maddox (Huff) and everyone can make shots. I just try to play my game and help my team.”

It was the sixth double-digit game in the past two weeks by Carter, who averaged three points a game last season. Carter admits his confidence has grown.

“It definitely is. My coaches and teammates are telling me to take those shots, and that means a lot and has given me confidence,” Carter said.

“He’s playing really well now,” Noah said of his teammate. “I’ve been waiting on him to take off. All six of the guys playing a lot are playing well and capable of catching fire and putting points on the board.”

Noah, a South Carolina signee, led the Bears with 32 points and was happy with the way his team bounced back after a grueling game a night earlier against Kell.

“We knew we had to mentally ready for this game. They are a good team and very well coached,” Noah said.

“We are really resilient,” Carter said, “We don’t let losses get us down. We just use that as motivation.”

“I was a little worried we’d be fatigued, but I was real proud of our effort to bounce back and get a win against a really good team. I love watching that team play. I think our size hurt them a little bit,” Jones said.

Huff hit three 3-pointers as part of an 11-point first quarter as he started and ended the period with treys as HCHS took a 21-9 lead.

“He got in a rhythm the first quarter, and we have a couple of guys who can do that and get everyone going,” Jones said. “We feel we’re moving along where we want to be and we just want to continue our forward progress.”

Carter had eight points and six rebounds in the second quarter as the Bears extended their lead to 39-25 by halftime.

Noah scored in the paint, then hit a 3-pointer, then found Reggie Cottrell open in the corner for a 3 as the HCHS lead grew to 20, at 47-27. The Bulldogs battled back to within 15 before 3s by Carter and Noah gave Harlan County a 60-44 lead going into the final period.

The George Wythe offense heated up in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs outscored the Bears 28-20 to close within eight in the closing seconds. Noah kept the Bears in control with 13 points in the period, including five of six at the line in the final minute.

Tournament-tested Bears down Oak Ridge in opening round of Arby’s Classic

One of the ideas for playing what coach Kyle Jones calls the toughest schedule in Harlan County history is to make them “tournament ready” by the time the Black Bears reach the postseason.

It appears the big-game atmosphere the Bears faced in four games last week in the King of the Bluegrass tournament paid off last Wednesday in the first round of the prestigious Arby’s Classic at Viking Hall in Bristol.

Harlan County took the lead for good midway through the first quarter against Oak Ridge, Tenn., and continued to pull away in the second and third quarters, building an 18-point lead midway through the final period on the way to a 67-57 victory. The Black Bears had only four turnovers through the first three periods and showed no signs of being intimidated by Oak Ridge, ranked 24th in Tennessee, or the atmosphere of playing in of the biggest tournaments in this part of the nation.

“We knew the atmosphere was going to be big, but we didn’t how big it was until we got here. I’ve said from day one that I feel we have the toughest schedule for our school and the county and would put it up against any in the state this year,” Jones said. “There’s no question that tournament like the WYMT Classic and the King of the Bluegrass got us ready for an atmosphere like this, and we hope it pays off in the end.”

Senior guard Trent Noah showed the big crowd why he’s a South Carolina signed with a 37-point, 10-rebound effort to lead the 11-1 Bears. Junior guard Maddox Huff added 16 points, and junior center Jaycee Carter added 11 points and seven rebounds.

Cooper Williams led the 9-4 Wildcats with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Garrett Gilesa and Brennen Scott added 12 and 11 points, respectively

“We had seen Oak Ridge on film and we knew they had a good team. They are very athletic and a physical defensive team,” Jones said.

Carter helped the Bears get off to a good start with three baskets in the opening period as the Bears took a 16-13 lead. It was the fifth straight double-digit scoring performance for Carter.

“Jaycee has really worked on his game and has changed his body,” Jones said. “He was always a big, physical kid, but he’s moving so much better now and is knocking down shots. People have to guard him.”

Noah and Huff took over in the second quarter as the Bears hit seven of 11 shoots and took a 39-33 lead into the break. The Bears had no turnovers in the period against the Oak Ridge pressure.

Harlan County’s defense owned the third quarter as the Wildcats turned the ball over eight times as the lead grew to 61-43. Noah had a seven-point trip in a 10-0 Bears’ run as he drew a foul on a 3-point attempt and then hit five straight free throws and a jumper after the Oak Ridge coach was assessed a technical for arguing the foul call.

The Bears’ almost flawless night was marred by their struggles down the stretch as Oak Ridge closed the game with a 9-1 run that included five HCHS turnovers.

“I attribute some of the those turnovers late to being a little fatigue. We’ll clean those up, and I feel confident we can,” Jones said.