LEXINGTON — Harlan County senior Trent Noah and his Black Bear teammates put on a show during their 67-59 win over defending state champion Warren Central on Thursday.
Noah, a University of South Carolina signee, dominated throughout the game, leading all scorers with points 35?points and 11 rebounds while hitting six 3-pointers (6-for-8) as Harlan County will advance to its first-ever quarterfinal appearance on Friday at 6 p.m. against the winner of Campbell County and Newport.
The Black Bears (32-4) jumped out to a 14-2 lead early in the first quarter and never looked back, withstanding any run the Dragons had.
Warren Central managed to cut its deficit to 57-54 with 4:07 remaining in the game after a 3-pointer by Drevin Bratton, but Harlan County never seemed phased and secured the win during the final four minutes.
The Black Bears led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter as Maddox Huff had the hot hand and hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points.
The Dragons (17-12) cut their deficit to 32-28 at halftime after Kade Unseld knocked down a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Harlan County shook the shot off and came out in the third quarter, red-hot from behind the arc.
The Black Bears knocked down 7-of-11 shot attempts in the period, including a 3-for-4 effort from long range to build a 55-44 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Noah continued his dominant play, scoring 27 points while pulling down nine rebounds during the first three quarters.
Warren Central used a 10-2 run to open the fourth quarter to pull to within three points (57-54) at the 4:07 mark, but Harlan County withstood the rally, and went on a 10-5 run to wrapup the win.
Huff finished with 15 points for the Black Bears while totaling four assists. Jaycee Carter added eight points and two rebounds while Reggie Cottrell followed with five points and two rebounds for Harlan County. Brody Napier finished with four points, hitting all four of his free throw attempts.
The Black Bears shot 20-of-41 from the floor, including a 10-of-19 effort from 3-point range. They were outrebounded by the Dragons, 24-23, but were efficient at the free-throw line, hitting 17-of-19 attempts.
Warren Central finished shooting 23-of-49, and 7-of-19 from behind the arc. The Dragons were 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
