LEXINGTON — Down 50-32 with 3:42 remaining in the third quarter, it looked as if Harlan County’s season was slowly coming to an end.
But no one told the Black Bears.
Kyle Jones’ squad outscored Campbell County, 53-21, the remainder of the contest to knock off the Camels, 85-71, in overtime to advance to Saturday’s semifinal action of the KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16.
The comeback win was a team effort, but senior Trent Noah played a huge part in it, scoring a game-high 48 points while finishing with nine rebounds. Noah’s game-tying 3-pointer tied the game at 69 apiece, sending the contest into overtime, and the final four minutes was all Harlan County.
The Black Bears outscored Campbell County, 16-2, in overtime.
Noah has now scored 83 points during Harlan County’s two games in the Sweet 16 and after hitting 7-of-10 3-point attempts on Friday, Noah is not 13-of-18 from behind the arc in the Sweet 16. He finished Friday’s game at the charity stripe, hitting all nine attempts.
Noah’s 48 points is the most scored in a Sweet 16 game since former Clay County legend Rich Farmer scored 51 points in 1988. The 48-point mark ranks fourth overall behind Wayland legend King Kelly Coleman’s 68 points in 1956, Farmer’s 51 points, and Coleman’s 50 in 1956.
Reggie Cottrell came up with the big shot in overtime, his 3-pointer with 2:56 remaining gave the Black Bears a 72-69 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Cottrell finished with eight points and six rebounds while Maddox Huff came up big, scoring 22 points while finishing with seven assists and nine rebounds. He was also 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Jaycee Carter chipped in three points and four rebounds while Caleb Johnson and Brody Napier scored two points apiece.
Harlan County will be back in action Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against the winner of Evangel Christian and Trinity (Louisville). If the Black Bears win, they’ll advance to Saturday night’s state title game at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of Great Crossing and Lyon County.
