LEXINGTON — The North Laurel Jaguars started the White, Greer, Maggard Holiday Classic off on the right foot with a 55-48 win over Butler County during Friday’s first round action.
The Jaguars advance and will face-off against DuPont Manual on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
“Good win for us to start the WGM Classic,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “We did a really good job defensively by making things tough on their guard. Our guys were locked in and ready to go off the break. This is always a challenging field. Manual is off to a tremendous start and it will be another good test for us.”
North Laurel (8-2) got off to a 15-10 lead in the first quarter as Reece Davidson scored 13 of his team-best 23 points during the period.
The Jaguars held a 26-15 advantage at halftime as Davidson scored four more points while Kole Jervis hit a 3-pointer.
Three 3-pointers by Jordan Rawlings and Jervis’ second 3-pointer of the contest allowed North Laurel’s lead grow to 42-25 with eight minutes remaining.
Butler County outscored the Jaguars, 23-13, in the fourth quarter, but North Laurel managed to hold on and pull out a seven-point victory.
Davidson’s 23 points led all scorers while Cooper Elza scored seven of his nine points in the final period of play. Rawlings and Jervis also added nine points apiece while RJ Noble finished with five points.
