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By John Henson
Sports Writer
JACKSON — One of the few drawbacks to going as far as the Harlan County Black Bears did last March when they collected district and regional championships on the way to a state runner-up finish is the reactions you get on the road in the season that follows.
Rowdy crowds and fired-up opponents have greeted the Bears several times this year, just as they faced again Saturday at Breathitt County against the 14th Region’s second-ranked team. Much like a win two nights earlier at home against Pikeville, HCHS was locked in a close game much of the way. The Bobcats trailed by only two at halftime and were still still within three late in the third quarter.
That’s when Maddox Huff decided it was time to end the mystery, burying four straight 3-pointers as part of a 20-6 run over the next four minutes that extended a three-point lead to 17 and sent the Bears to a 78-59 victory. Huff hit nine of 15 3-pointers and finished with 34 points as the Bears ran their record to 16-5.
“Maddox shot the ball really well. Everybody knows he’s our go-to guy, but I thought we got contributions from all our starters,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “That’s what we need to win the district and region. We’re not a one-man team even though Maddox is an all-state player.”
Junior guard Reggie Cotrell added 16 points as he hit three 3-pointers as part of the Bears’ 14-of-28 night from beyond the line. Sophomore point guard Trent Cole added 14 points while running the HC offense to perfection on a night with only four turnovers.
“I thought Trent had a good floor game. I told him at halftime any time you get a guy backpedaling to get to the rim because good things happen that way because he’s such a good passer,” Jones said. “It was a good win in a tough environment.”
Senior center Jaycee Carter added 10 points and 10 rebounds, reaching the 500-rebound mark for his career with his ninth rebound of the night early in the fourth quarter, leading to the first of four Huff 3s in the period. Cole chipped in with two baskets in the period as HC outscored Breathitt 23-12 to pull away before turning the game over to the reserves.
Senior guard Austin Sperry, the 14th Region’s top-rated player each of the past two years, scored 25 to lead the 11-5 Bobcats. Joseph Honeycutt, also a senior guard, added 12 points on four 3-pointers.
A couple of early Honeycutt 3s gave Breathitt a 6-2 lead before Huff and Cottrell answered in an 8-0 run. Sperry and Cole traded treys before Sperry’s putback cut the HCHS lead to 17-11 after one quarter.
Harlan County led by eight twice in the second quarter, the last on a three-point play by Cottrell with 2:31 left in the half. A thunderous dunk by Sperry sparked a 7-2 run to close the half, capped by Peyton Collins’ 3 to pull Breathitt within two, at 32-30, going into the break.
Breathitt pulled even early in the third quarter and stayed close until Huff and Cottrell took over, combining to hit seven of 11 shots as the Bears’ lead grew to 55-47.
Harlan County plays host to Bell County on Tuesday in a girls/boys district doubleheader.
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Sophomore guard Landon Brock scored 15 points and freshman guard Brady Smith added 10 as Harlan County held on for a 59-57 win in junior varsity action after building a seven-point lead early in the final period.
Bryson Bryant scored eight for the 4-0 Bears. Kaden Jones and Hayden Grace each chipped in with seven points. Brady Freeman scored five. Rydge Lewis contributed three. Tucker Curtis and Thyler Coots added two each.
Junior guard Austin McInnis led the Bobcats with 26 points Aiden Combs and Jason Fugate scored eight each. Jaydon Hudson tossed in six. Jake Fugate scored five. Wyatt Spencer added four.

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Harlan County 78, Breathitt County 59

HARLAN COUNTY (16-5)
Trent Cole 5-10 2-4 14, Maddox Huff 11-21 3-4 34, Brody Napier 2-4 0-0 4, Reggie Cottrell 6-9 1-1 16, Jaycee Carter 4-12 2-2 10, Brennan Blevins 0-1 0-0 0, Brady Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kaden Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Grace 0-1 0-0 0, Bryson Bryant 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-58 8-11 78.
BREATHITT COUNTY (11-5)
Payton Collins 2-9 0-0 6, Austin Sperry 10-24 4-4 25, Joseph Honeycutt 4-9 0-0 12, Braxton Terry 2-4 4-4 8, Canaan Gross 2-5 0-0 4, Aaron Stallard 1-3 0-0 2, Brantlee Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Austin McInnis 0-0 0-0 0, Wyatt Spencer 1-1 0-0 2, Aiden Combs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-56 8-8 59.