Nate Valentine’s North Laurel Jaguars found themselves in another battle on Saturday, this time around against No. 4 ranked Covington Catholic.
The Jaguars were once again tested early and often against a Colonel squad that entered The matchup with a 15-2 mark.
North Laurel fell behind early, and rallied late before coming up short with a 69-65 loss.
The Jaguars (11-9) were looking to win their third game in a row for the first time since starting the season with a 5-0 mark.
Senior Reed Sheppard battled foul trouble throughout the contest, and was limited to a season-low four points.
“We dug ourselves a hole early and fought back,” Valentine said. “I’m proud of our guys for battling in a tough environment. We just have to learn to execute on both ends of the floor late in games. We’ll be fine. I have all the confidence in the world in these guys.”
North Laurel rallied from a 37-26 halftime deficit and used a 27-13 run to take a 53-50 advantage with four minutes remaining in the game.
The Colonels’ Evan Isparo took over, scoring 11 of his team-best 21 points during the fourth quarter, allowing His team to close the game out with a 19-12 run to seal the win.
Ryan David led all scorers with 34 points while Gavin Chadwell added 14 points. Colton Rawlings, and Brody Brock each scored six points apiece.
The Jaguars will look to get back on track Monday at home against Red Bird before traveling to play Madison Southern on Tuesday.
