CORBIN — North Laurel’s reign as 13th Region Champions came to an end on Wednesday to the hands of 51st District champion Knox Central.
The Jaguars fell behind as many as 11 points before cutting their deficit to one point with 4:22 remaining before falling to the Panthers, 72-65.
Nate Valentine’s squad turned in a 24-of-52 shooting effort, but was outrebounded, 27-20.
Knox Central finished 25-of-42 from the floor while hitting 8-of-17 from 3-point range.
The Panthers had five players score in double figures — Grayson Burton (20 points), Braydon Mills (14), Gavin Chadwell (11), Evan Hubbard (10), and Austin Bargo (10).
Krish Patel led North Laurel with 16 points while Kole Jervis (15), Reece Davidson (13), and Brody Brock (13) followed.
North Laurel jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Panthers with a 9-1 run to close out the period while holding a 15-9 advantage entering the second quarter, thanks to Grayson Burton getting the hot hand and scoring his team’s last four points.
Knox Central extended its lead to double digits on two different occasions thanks to Brayden Mills.
Mills’ 3-pointer with 5:50 remaining in the first half to give his team a 22-16 lead. He knocked down two more 3-pointers while scoring the Panthers’ next eight points to push their lead to 30-19 with 3:33 remaining.
North Laurel managed to finish the first half off with a 6-2 run thanks to four points from Reece Davidson and a basket by Brody Brock to make the score, 32-25 at halftime.
Both teams shot over 50 percent in the first half with Knox Central connecting on 13-of-20 shot attempts from the floor while the Jaguars were 11-of-20.
The Panthers were red hot from 3-point range, hitting 4-of-7 from the floor while North Laurel was 1-of-5.
Knox Central controlled the board in the first half, outrebounding the Jaguars, 12-5. North Laurel finished with zero offensive boards in the first half.
Grayson Burton and Braydon Mills led the Panthers with 11 points apiece while Kris Patel led North Laurel with 12 points.
Both teams took each other’s best punch in the third quarter with three 3-pointers by Kole Jervis and a 3-pointer from Brody Brock cutting the Panthers’ lead to 45-41 with 2:57 left in the period.
Two 3-pointers by Evan Hubbard and a basket by Grayson Burton pushed Knox Central’s lead to 56-47 entering the fourth quarter.
North Laurel regained the momentum in the fourth quarter after opening with a 5-0 run to cut its deficit to 56-54 with 6:11 remaining in regulation.
A 3-pointer by Brody Brock cut the Jaguars’ deficit to 58-57 with 4:22 remaining but Knox Central answered with 7-2 run to out the game out of reach.
