LEXINGTON — North Laurel’s matchup on Saturday had a little extra twist when Jaguar coach Nate Valentine went up against his former high school coach Steve Wright.
Wright is now the coach at Madison Southern, who did just enough to record an 81-74 win over North Laurel (4-9) to out an end to the Jaguars’ two-game win streak.
“We had a chance to win at the end and could never get over the hump,” Valentine said. “Give Madison Southern credit. They made plays when they needed to. This was a very good week for us despite going 2-2.
“I’ve brought some very good teams to this tournament and not faired as well,” he added. “We are coming together as a group and figuring things out. We are looking forward to the new year of basketball.”
The Jaguars had trouble containing the Eagles’ Jay Rose, who finished with 31 points, and 11 rebounds. Teammates Braden Hudson, Caden Nobbe, and Zach Hudson combined 41 points.
North Laurel countered with Brody Brock scoring 20 points while hitting three 3-pointers, and finishing with seven rebounds. Jordan Rawlings scored 17 points, hit four 3-pointers, and pulled down eight rebounds while Reece Davidson added 16 points and eight rebounds. Cooper Elza scored 13 points, and finished with seven rebounds, and five assists.
The Jaguars trailed 22-16 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Madison Southern, 18-15, in the second quarter to cut their deficit to three points at 37-34.
The Eagles pushed their lead to 59-55 entering the fourth quarter before wrapping up the win.
