WILLIAMSBURG — The 50th District seeding process took another turn on Friday when Whitley County rallied from a one-point second half deficit to beat South Laurel, 53-45.
Corbin leads the way for the district’s top spot with a 3-1 mark despite the Colonels’ last-second win over the Redhounds last week.
Whitley County’s eight-point victory over South Laurel moved the Colonels’ to 2-2 in 50th District play while South Laurel fell to 2-2. Williamsburg currently holds a 1-3 district mark with its lone win coming against Whitley County.
“Great effort by our guys tonight,” Whitley County coach Eric Swords said. “I thought everyone was locked in tonight and we are slowly becoming one of the best defensive teams in the region. Any time you go against South and Coach (Jeff) Davis, you know they are gonna get after you. I thought our kids handled it well and played with a better flow on offense tonight.
“We got to keep getting more consistent as we go forward,” he added. “We will have a tough test on the road versus Owsley County tomorrow.”
Swords’ squad hung tough against a South Laurel squad that was with team leading scorer and rebounder, Jordan Mabe. The Cardinals (12-7) are now 2-5 since Mabe went down with an injury.
South Laurel held a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and 25-24 edge at halftime before the Colonels began to take over.
Whitley County (16-5) outscored the Cardinals, 14-11, in the third quarter to take a 38-36 lead before using a 15-9 run in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Dre Ellis led the Colonels with 16 points with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter. Bryson Mahan scored 10 points while Jackson Petrey added nine points and Lucas Queener finished with eight points.
Josh Steele led South Laurel with 15 points while Colton Rawlings added 11 points and Landon Howard chipped in nine points.
