LONDON — Jeff Davis’ South Laurel Cardinals are known for their lock down defense, and it was on full display during their crosstown matchup with North Laurel on Thursday.
The Cardinals collected 16 more rebounds than their rival while holding the Jaguars to its lowest point total in 311 games dating back to North Laurel’s 28-22 win over Bell County on February 3, 2015.
Davis’ squad held off North Laurel, winning 53-38.
“Good win against really good team,” Davis said. “Had really good minutes from our bench and had some guys really step up in the second half. Need to be better in certain stretches of the game.”
South Laurel limited the Jaguars to only two points in the first quarter, building a 14-2 lead.
The Cardinals (9-4) had offensive struggles in the second quarter, getting outscored 11-4 while holding a slim 18-13 edge at halftime.
Both teams scored 15 points apiece in the third quarter while North Laurel (8-6) cut its deficit to 34-30 with four minutes remaining before South Laurel wrapped up the win with a 19-8 run.
“You can’t get out-rebounded by 16 and expect to win against really good teams,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “I have to find a better way to stress the importance that rebounding has on a basketball game. You also can’t get down 10-12 points every game. I have to find a better way to get these guys ready to play so we can get off to better starts. We will get back to work tomorrow.”
Josh Steele led the Cardinals with 18 points while Jordan Mabe had 15 points, and Colton Rawlings scored 10 points.
After being limited to only two points in the first half, Reece Davidson finished with a team-best 12 points for the Jaguars while Kole Jervis added 10 points.
