Soaked and smiling in his office at the Harlan County High School gymnasium, Kyle Jones was enjoying his first win as a high school basketball coach moments after his Black Bears finished off an 80-61 victory over visiting Perry Central to open the 2022-2023 season.
“It does feel good to get the first one. It’s something that has been on my mind, so it’s a relief,” said Jones, who took over this summer for his brother, Michael, as the HCHS coach. The Bears followed a familiar formula to victory as junior all-state guard Trent Noah scored 25 points and senior wing Daniel Carmical added 24 as he tied current Harlan County assistant coach Cameron Carmical and Trey Sanders for the school record in 3-pointers with eight.
Up six at halftime, the Bears opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take command. Noah and Jonah Swanner each had two baskets in the run as Perry was held scoreless for over four minutes. Two Carmical treys pushed the lead to 21 points as HCHS took a 59-40 lead into the final period.
Junior forward Kizer Slone came off the bench to lead the Commodores with 15 points. Trayton Woods and Dylan Knight added 14 and 12 points, respectively. Standout sophomore guard Rydge Beverly as he played only parts of the first three quarters after suffering an ankle injury midway through the opening period.
Perry Central came out red hot, hitting eight of its first nine shot to take an early 17-13 lead before the Bears battled back to pull even at 19-all by the end of the period.
With Maddox Huff hitting three shots and Noah and Carmical adding two each, the Bears slowly built a 10-point lead before Beverly’s 3 cut the deficit to 38-32 at halftime.
