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By John Henson
Sports Writer

CORBIN — Playing against 2025 13th Region Player of the Year Maddox Huff, North Laurel junior Reece Davidson made his case for the same honor in 2026 with a clutch performance Saturday afternoon in the regional semifinals. Davidson, who scored a game-high 23 points, hit four of four shots in the fourth quarter as the Jaguars rallied from a nine-point deficit to knock off defending champ Harlan County 53-47 in overtime.Davidson hit only two of nine shots over the first three quarters as both defenses were sharp but was at his best down the stretch as he scored on several possessions in a row to bring the Jaguars back.
“I thought Maddox did an excellent job on (Davidson). I asked him at halftime if he wanted me to take him off of him if it was wearing him down, but he said no,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “We played well enough to win. They switched defenses a lot from man to junk to zone. I thought we recognized it well, but we missed some shots we normally make. I’m sure they can say the same thing. The ball didn’t bounce our way, and sometimes it happens that way.”
Davidson’s basket with 2:28 left cut the HCHS lead to 44-42. After both teams missed opportunities to score, Harlan County’s Trent Cole hit one of two at the line for a three-point lead with 41.6 seconds left. Kole Jervis came up with the shot of the day with a corner 3 at the 10-second mark. Maddox Huff’s shot in the final seconds was knocked away by Davidson.
Cooper Elza’s 3 with 1:46 left in overtime put the Jaguars ahead to stay. Reggie Cottrell hit two free throws with 1:20 left to pull HC within one. Davidson hit one of two with 25.4 seconds left for a two-point lead. Huff’s 3 was off the mark, and North clinched the win with two free throws from Jervis, who stole the inbounds pass and added a final basket.
“They hit a huge shot to sent it to overtime, but we just made too many errors at critical times,” Jones said. “I made mental errors too. It wasn’t just the players. It was the coaches as well. One play didn’t cost us the game. It was a combination.”
Jervis and Elza added 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the 21-10 Jaguars, who won regional titles in 2022 and 2023 with Mr. Basketball Reed Sheppard leading the way.
Huff, an all-stater last season and this season’s region player of the year and a Mr. Basketball finalist, led the 25-9 Bears with 15 points. Jaycee Carter added 11. Cottrell and Brody Napier tossed in nine and eight points, respectively. All four players had key roles in the Bears’ run to a regional title and state runner-up finish last season.
“I’m very proud of this group. I love them,” Jones said. “I will miss being around these three seniors (Huff, Carter and Napier). They have meant so much to this program. We will really miss them next season.”
North Laurel will play the Pineville/South Laurel winner on Monday at 7 in the tournament finals.
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North Laurel 53, Harlan County 47 (OT)
NORTH LAUREL (21-10
Cooper Elza 4-10 0-0 11, Jordan Rawlings 0-3 0-0 0, Kole Jervis 5-11 2-2 14, Reece Davidson 6-14 9-10 23, R.J. Noble 2-5 1-2 5, Cam Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Corey Cunagin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 17-45 12-14 53.
HARLAN COUNTY (25-9)
Trent Cole 1-5 1-2 3, Maddox Huff 6-20 2-2 15, Brody Napier 3-6 1-1 8, Reggie Cottrell 3-4 2-2 9, Jaycee Carter 5-10 0-1 11. Totals: 18-45 6-8 47.

North Laurel 13 8 7 17 8 — 53
Harlan County 12 6 16 11 2 — 47
3-point goals: North Laurel 7-16 (Elza 3-6, Jervis 2-3, Davidson 2-5, Rawlings 0-2), Harlan County 5-18 (Cottrell 1-2, Cole 1-3, Napier 1-3, Carter 1-4, Huff 1-6). Rebounds: North Laurel 24 (Noble 9, Elza 8, Jervis 2, Davidson 2, Rawlings 1, Anderson 1, Cunagin 1). Assists: North Laurel 10 (Elza 3, Davidson 3, Noble 2, Jervis 1, Anderson 1), Harlan County 10 (Cole 4, Napier 3, Huff 2, Carter 1). Turnovers: North Laurel 3, Harlan County 9. Fouled out: None.

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Bears open defense of 13th Region title with victory over Knox Central

By John Henson
Sports Writer
CORBIN — In the run to the second 13th Region Tournament title in school history last season, nothing came easy for the Harlan County Black Bears during hard-fought wins over South Laurel, Clay County and Corbin.
The quest for a repeat started much the same Wednesday as Harlan County grabbed an early lead but had to fight off numerous Knox Central comeback attempts before holding off the youthful Panthers 61-49 in the tournament’s opening game at The Corbin Arena.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game going in,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “I told the kids not to pay attention to people who said we got an easy draw. They won 22 ballgames, and they’re not an easy draw. Knox Central competed hard, and they have one of the best young players in the region (Grayson Burton), but I want to give our kids credit. We could have got tight when they cut it to four.”
The Panthers, who fell to Pineville in the 51st District Tournament finals, came out ice cold and didn’t record a field goal until Burton converted a layup off a turnover. Maddox Huff hit an early 3, and Reggie Cottrell and Jaycee Carter each had baskets as the Bears took a 7-1 lead. Trent Cole and Huff each hit 3s as the lead grew to 15-3 before Burton closed the period with a 3 of his own for only the second Knox field goal of the period.
“We’re so young that we came out nervous, and I was afraid of that,” Knox Central coach Mitchell Madden said. “We went four minutes and didn’t score a bucket, but here’s the thing I want everyone to know. My kids are young, and they never quit. We battled back to within four and missed a layup and free throw. But you look up there and it’s 15-3, and they could have folded. There’s no quit in those boys, and I hope that’s what everyone saw.”
“I was disappointed halftime because I thought we could have been up 15, but we settled down toward the end of the third quarter and made plays when we had to,” Jones said.
Huff and Cole each hit 3s as the lead grew to 24-12 with 2:12 left in the first half. Two Burton baskets, including a 3, cut the deficit to 26-18 at halftime.
Knox seemed to grab the momentum to start the second half, getting as close as four after a three-point play by Hayden Melton with 3:49 left in the third period. The lead alternated between six and four until Huff hit a 3 to ignite a 10-0 run that put the Bears back in control. Huff finished with 28 points, including 10 of 10 at the line, to lead the 25-8 Bears.
“I think he’s the best player in the region, but I’m so proud of my kids,” Madden said. “Kyle has a great team. You have to give credit to them. We didn’t make shots, and they did.”
Cole, a sophomore point guard, finished with 18 points and helped Harlan County put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 3, then a basket off a drive after Knox pulled within six on a trey by Austin Bargo with 3:30 left. Huff hit six straight free throws over the final two minutes.
Burton, a freshman guard, led the 22-8 Panthers with 20 points.
Harlan County will play North Laurel on Saturday at 1 in the semifinals.
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Harlan County 61, Knox Central 49
KNOX CENTRAL (22-8)
Tydus Summers 2-12 3-4 8, Grayson Burton 8-17 2-2 20, Evan Hubbard 0-4 1-2 1, Nathan Dunn 2-5 2-4 6, Hayden Melton 2-3 1-1 5, Evan Taylor 1-7 1-2 3, Austin Bargo 1-4 0-0 2, Christian Bargo 1-2 0-0 3, Elijah Carey 0-0 0-0 0, Lucas Vaughn 0-1 0-0 0, Nicholas Perkins 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Centers 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Olmstead 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 17-55 10-15 49.
HARLAN COUNTY (25-8)
Trent Cole 5-12 5-8 18, Maddox Huff 7-19 10-10 28, Brody Napier 1-4 0-0 3, Reggie Cottrell 2-5 0-2 4, Jaycee Carter 3-5 0-0 6, Brady Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Brennan Blevins 1-1 0-0 2, Landon Brock 0-0 0-0 0, Bryson Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker Curtis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 15-20 61.

Knox Central 6 12 16 15 — 49
Harlan County 15 11 19 16 — 61
3-point goals: Knox Central 5-21 (Burton 2-7, C. Bargo 1-1, A. Bargo 1-3, Summers 1-6, Vaughn 0-1, E. Taylor 1-3), Harlan County 8-23 (Huff 4-10, Cole 3-6, Napier 1-3, Cottrell 0-2, Carter 0-2). Rebounds: Knox Central 30 (Summers 8, Dunn 7, Burton 5, C. Bargo 5, Melton 2, Taylor 1, A. Bargo 1, Hubbard 1), Harlan County 31 (Cottrell 11, Carter 8, Cole 4, Huff 4, Napier 2, Smith 2). Assists: Knox Central 7 (Summers 3, Burton 3, Taylor 1), Harlan County 12 (Napier 4, Cottrell 3, Carter 3, Cole 1, Huff 1). Turnovers: Knox Central 7. Harlan County 8. Fouled out: None.