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By John Henson
Sports Writer
Best known in 13th Region basketball circles as the younger brother of Lady Dragons’ senior standout Kylie Noe, Harlan freshman center Kobe Noe found a way to supplant his sister as the star of a doubleheader sweep against visiting Middlesboro on the same night she became only the fourth girl in program history to score 2,000 points.
With his Dragons locked in a 58-58 tie, Noe ran down a missed shot and drew a foul with six-tenths of a second to play. After Middlesboro coach John Wheat called a timeout, Noe missed the first shot but then hit the second. Izack Saylor stole the inbounds pass to set off a celebration as the youthful Dragons won for the third time in 20 games and first time at home with a 59-58 district victory.
“Kobe made a good play on the ball, and I thought he got fouled,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said. “I told him to make the first one and miss the second one (to avoid allowing Middlesboro to take the ball inbounds for a play). When he missed the first one, that strategy was out. I was proud of him because that was a tough one. He’s our best free throw shooter. Any time he goes to the free throw line, I’m confident.”
Noe and junior guard Dylan Cox each scored 17 points to lead the 3-17 Dragons. Cox was also a leader on the defensive end by forcing several turnovers. Saylor chipped in with 12 points.
“Any time you get a district win it’s a good win. It’s our first home win, so pretty much the first home win for all of these guys,” Akal said. “It was back and forth the last few minutes. We turned it over a few times and gave them some hope.”
Junior guard Joseph Killion led a balanced attack with 16 points as the Yellow Jackets fell to 4-9 with the loss. Garrison Warren and Mekhi Young added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
“We haven’t played in 21 days. That’s not an excuse, but I felt our legs started to go some in the fourth quarter,” Wheat said. “When that happens, you shoot a little short and rush things. Overall, I was very pleased with our effort tonight. These guys play hard. Our defense is getting a lot better. They are buying into everything, and we’re becoming a better team. This district is tough every night. We did lose, but we played a really good game.”
The Jackets hit only three of 13 shots in the fourth quarter after taking a four-point lead early in the period. Middlesboro also turned the ball over 21 times.
“We have to get better at taking care of the basketball,” Wheat said. “We also missed a lot of easy buckets. We have to win. As a competitor, I want to win. It’s going to happen. We’ll run off three, four or five, and we’ll surprise somebody.”
Harlan travels to Prestonsburg on Saturday. Middlesboro plays host to Red Bird on Monday.

Harlan 59, Middlesboro 58

MIDDLESBORO (4-9)
Mekhi Young 3-9 3-6 11, Joseph Killion 5-11 5-5 16, Jacob Tinnell 3-7 0-0 6, Aiden Larew 2-6 0-0 4, Garrison Warren 5-10 1-3 13, Bryson Brooks 2-9 2-2 7, Bryson Heck 0-0 1-2 1. Totals: 20-52 12-18 58.
HARLAN (3-17)
Jaxson Perry 1-4 3-6 5, Ethan Huff 0-4 0-0 0, Izack Saylor 5-14 0-0 12, Dylan Cox 6-16 2-4 17, Kobe Noe 5-9 6-8 17, Eli Noe 1-1 0-0 3, Braxton Rowe 1-1 0-0 2, Dylan Collins 1-1 0-0 3, Totals: 20-50 11-18 59.

Middlesboro 13 16 18 11 — 58
Harlan 18 14 13 14 — 59

3-point goals: Middlesboro 6-25 (Young 2-4, Waren 2-5, Killion 1-6, Brooks 1-7, Larew 0-3), Harlan 8-25 (Cox 3-10, Saylor 2-9, K. Noe 1-1, E. Noe 1-1, Collins 1-1, Huff 0-3), Rebounds: Middlesboro 35 (Killion 13, Larew 6, Warren 5, Brooks 5, Young 4, Tinnell 1, Heck 1), Harlan 24 (Saylor 7, K. Noe 6, Perry 3, Cox 3, Huff 2, Rowe 2, E. Noe 1). Turnovers: Middlesboro 21, Harlan 15. Fouled out: None.