Despite the added pressure of being the defending 13th Region champion, and a huge bull’s eye on their back for the entire season, Nate Valentine’s North Laurel Jaguars made program history by capturing consecutive 13th Region championships with a 70-33 decision over Corbin.
The 37-point margin of victory set a 13th Region Tournament championship game record dating back to the first tournament 91 years ago. It surpassed the former record, a 36-point win by Corbin in 2009 with the Redhounds’ 71-35 win over South Laurel.
“I thought we were ready to go,” Valentine said. “Our guys were focused and ready to go. We had to fight tooth and nail to get out of the first round (against Harlan).
“It was miserable to go through, I can tell you that,” Valentine added about his close game with Harlan. “But I think looking back, it was probably the best thing for us. They don’t hand these things out, and I’m just elated for these guys to be able to experience going to Rupp Arena.”
Led by McDonald’s All-American, and University if Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard’s, North Laurel built a 32-16 lead in the first half and never looked back. The Jaguars used a 25-7 run in the third quarter to take a commanding 57-23 lead into the final quarter of play.
Sheppard recorded a triple-double in his last game against a 13th Region opponent. The tournament MVP totaled 13 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds while also finishing with four blocks, and four steals.
“I’m super proud of my team,” Sheppard said. “We came out and fought the hole game. Give credit to Corbin for making it this far, and playing a really good game.
“Man, my teammates and coaches, we fought and stuck together through this hole season, we had some ups and downs, and injuries,” he added. “I’m super proud of every single one of them. I love them all to death. This is an awesome experience. You can’t really explain it. It’s a surreal moment.
“We just had to do what we do,” he continued. “We had to run our offense, and not let them speed us up or slow us down. We had to get our pace, and keep it that way. On the defensive end, we had to do the same thing to them. We held them to 33 points, and that’s what we needed to do to get the win.”
Ryan Davidson led all scorers with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one block. Colton Rawling turned in an impressive tournament, and finished strong, scoring 13 points while finishing with an assist, and a rebound. Brody Brock added seven points while Coke Jervis scored six points. Gavin Chadwell finished with three points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots, and a steal while Reece Davidson, and Kyler Elza scored three points apiece. Jordan Rawlings added two points, and a rebound.
North Laurel shot 26-of-48 from the floor while hitting 8-of-21 from 3-point range. The Jaguars outrebounded Corbin, 33-25, and forced the Redhounds into nine turnovers. North Laurel also finished with 17 assists.
The Jaguars limited the Redhounds to 12-of-50 shooting effort, including a 2-of-11 performance from behind the arc. Hayden Llewellyn led Corbin with 11 points while Zander Curry finished with 10 points.
“North’s hot start coupled with our poor shooting performance was a recipe for disaster,” Corbin coach Tony Pietrowski said. “For all the accolades they receive I believe their defense is extremely underrated. Once you get down, you have to play more to their style and that obviously wasn’t what we wanted to do.
“That said I’m certainly proud of my team,” he added. “They had an excellent season and represented our program superbly. I’ll miss this group of seniors. They showed some great leadership all season long. Appreciate Redhound Nation and their support all season.”
The Jaguars played the toughest slate in the region, and one of the toughest in the state which prepared them for their current postseason run.
North Laurel slipped past Harlan, 55-52, in first round action of the regional tournament before defeating South Laurel in the semifinals, 63-44, and then beating the Redhounds by 37 points during Monday’s title game.
North Laurel controlled the tempo, and the game in the first half.
The Jaguars had a 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter before using an 18-8 run in the second quarter while building a 32-16 advantage at halftime.
North Laurel limited Corbin to 6-of-23 shooting in the first half, including an 0-4 effort from 3-point range. The Jaguars outrebounded the Redhounds, 17-13, with eight of those coming in the offensive end of the court. They also forced Corbin into six turnovers.
Sheppard led North Laurel with nine points, five assists, five rebounds, and one steal while Davidson had nine points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block. Rawlings had five points while Brock added four points, and Jervis scored three points.
The Jaguars connected on 13-of-25 shot attempts in the first half, including a 4-of-11 effort from 3-point range.
Llewellyn led the Redhounds with eight points and three rebounds while Curry had four points, and three rebounds.
North Laurel is now 19-11 overall in the 13th Region Tournament with three regional titles, and three runner-up finishes. Corbin drops to 88-56 overall in 13th Region Tournament play with 15 region titles, and 14 runner-up finishes.
