North Laurel finished its holiday schedule with a 3-4 mark after playing some of the best teams in the nation, and the Bluegrass.
The Jaguars capped off the WGM Holiday Classic on Thursday with an 84-67 loss to Ballard.
“Today was another tough one,” North Laurel coach Nate Valentine said. “We didn’t have an answer for them. The shot the ball extremely well from the outside and hurt us in transition. We put up a fight to cut the lead to six, but couldn’t get over the hump.”
North Laurel (8-6) trailed, 26-20, entering the second quarter before the Bruins used a 23-8 run in the second quarter to take control of the matchup.
The Jaguars fought back in the third quarter, using 12 points from Reed Sheppard, 10 points from Colton Rawlings, and two 3-pointers from Brody Brock to cut their deficit to 66-58 entering the fourth quarter.
Ballard put the game away in the final eight minutes, outscoring North Laurel, 18-9, en route to its 17 point victory.
The Bruins had three players score in double digits with Gabe Sisk hitting six 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 30 points. Miles Franklin added 19 points while Matt Hayden scored 11 points.
Sheppard led the Jaguars with 19 points while Reece Davidson added 12 points, Brody Brock finished with 11 points, and Rawlings scored 10. Ryan Davidson, who missed the second half due to an injury, tossed in eight points, and Chase Keen finished with seven points.
