LONDON — If you’re a South Laurel basketball fan, Friday was a great day to be a Cardinal.
Not only did the Cardinals pick up a 66-37 win over the 13th Region’s No. 2 ranked Bell County Bobcats, but it also remarked the return of team
Leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Mabe.
Mabe had been out nursing an injury since Jan. 6.
South Laurel (14-9) was 3-7 during his absence, but the Cardinals got back to their winning ways, improving to 11-2 with Mabe in the lineup while holding the Bobcats (22-5) lowest scoring output of the season.
Jeff Davis’ squad also put an end to Bell County’s six-game win streak during the process.
Josh Steele came up huge in the win for South Laurel, scoring a game-high 21 points while hitting three 3-pointers and finishing 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Colton Rawlings knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 16 points while Landon Howard added eight points and two 3-pointers. Mabe finished with six points.
“Good win for our bunch,” Davis said. “We needed that against a really good and well-coached team.
“We been working and grinding hard and to see that show up in a game is huge for us,” he added. “Now we have a quick turnaround and we have to get back focused mentally for that challenge.”
The Cardinals jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter, and never looked back. By the time time half time came around, South Laurel’s lead had grown to 29-16.
Davis’ squad led 54-28 entering the fourth quarter before outscoring Bell County, 12-9, in the game’s final eight minutes.
Ethan Buell led Bell County with 14 points while Blake Burnett finished with 10 points.
