CUMBERLAND - Barbourville and Harlan steamrolled their way into tonight's 13th Region All "A" Classic championhip with impressive victories in Thursday's semifinals at Cumberland High School.

Defending champ Barbourville (15-4) put on a shooting clinic in the opening game, hitting 14 3-pointers in a 103-55 rout of Middlesboro. Harlan (15-5) hit eight 3-pointers in the nightcap, coasting past Red Bird 81-46.

Guards John Smith and Ryan Clem each scored 23 as Harlan advanced to tonight's 7 p.m. championship game with their third blowout win of the tournament. Sophomore center Robbie Curtis added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Barbourville will have trouble matching its performance Thursday in what may have been the most impressive offensive display in the 16-year history of the tournament.

"I don't know if we can play any better than that," Barbourville coach Dinky Phipps said. "That was the best we've shot the ball all year and the best we've played defense."

After a slow start that was far from indicative of the type of night it would be, Barbourville found the range from beyond the 3-point line against Middlesboro's zone and then couldn't seem to miss. Senior guards Casey Smith and Matt Warren came off the bench to ignite the run, combining to hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 15-5 lead. Smith added a third 3 later in the quarter to push the lead to 22-5.

"They came out blistering the nets, and that's usually what we do," Middlesboro coach Ed Jones said. "They came out and hit a lot of 3s on us, and nothing we shot went in the first quarter. We made a little run in the second quarter but could never settle in."

Smith, who finished with 18 points, hit three more 3-pointers in the second quarter to turn the game into a rout. Barbourville led 48-22 at halftime, then got even hotter in the third period.

Chris Jackson, Barbourville's 6-foot-6 senior center, hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter as Barbourville outscored the Jackets 35-13 in the period. The Tigers, who have 6-3 juniors Travis Crawford and Aaron Grubb starting at forward, capitalized on their size advantage to get second- and third-shot opportunities.

"You're in a zone and they're hitting 14 3s, but if we went man, they would have went inside on us," Jones said. "You take your chances hoping they don't hit the 3s that they hit.

"A lot of people won't understand this, but the way they hit shots to open the game hurt our offense because it's kind of demoralizing. We didn't run and push the ball the way we normally run and push it. We were just kind of staring at all the shots they were hitting."

Chris Good had four baskets early in the fourth quarter as Barbourville extended its lead to 97-41 with 4:45 left when Phipps went to his bench to finish the game. A free throw by freshman guard Derek Vanover put Barbourville at the century mark with 2:49 left.

Jackson scored 24 and Good added 22 to lead Barbourville.

Junior guard Joe Mayes paced Middlesboro (8-10) with 18 points. Stuart Miller and Tyler Hatmaker each added 13.

Another strong defensive effort got Harlan off to a quick start as Red Bird struggled all night against the Dragons' pressure, turning the ball over 34 times.

"I felt we could come in and pressure them a little bit," Harlan coach Casey Lester said. "We were fortunate enough to get some turnovers to start the game.

"The last couple of games we've started with a couple of easy baskets, and I think that has led to good things. We've shot the ball extremely well, especially the first half, in the last three games."

Red Bird coach John D. Wilson said coming into the tournament that ball-handling would be the key to his team's success. Eleven first quarter turnovers put the Cardinals in a 21-6 hole from which they couldn't escape.

"Harlan's good, and we're in a down year, but we won't quit," Wilson said. "We'll hang in there and keep playing hard and trying to get better. Casey has a good team with some nice players, and he does a good job with them."

Clem, Smith and Curtis each had two baskets in the first quarter as Harlan raced to a 13-0 lead. Daniel Collett broke the ice for Red Bird with a 3-pointer at the 3:16 mark of the period.

Senior guard Jaymes Kelly gave the Dragons a lift off the bench, hitting a pair of 3s, the second of which pushed the lead to 26-6 with 7:05 left in the first half. Smith had three baskets in the quarter as Harlan hit 11 of 20 shots from the field to push its advantage to 52-23 at halftime.

Red Bird had 12 more turnovers in the third quarter as Harlan converted several steals into layups, pushing the lead to 73-33 heading into the final period. Clem hit five of six shots to lead Harlan in the quarter.

Junior center D.J. Sizemore, who led Red Bird (6-10) with 13 points and nine rebounds, had three baskets in the fourth period as Red Bird outscored Harlan 13-8. Both teams substituted heavily in the final period.

Lester was pleased with the Dragons' performance Thursday but knows they will have to play even better tonight to knock off Barbourville, the preseason favorite in the regional All "A" tournament.

"We're going to have to bring our 'A' game," Lester said. "They're a good team, but I feel if we come up here and play hard we've got just as good a chance as they do to win this thing."

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Middlesboro 5 17 13 20 - 55

Barbourville 22 26 35 20 - 103

Barbourville (103) - Chris Jackson 24, Matthew Cox 7, Casey Smith 18, Aaron Grubb 14, Chris Good 22, Travis Crawford 3, Matt Warren 9, Derek Vanover 4, Jerry Smith 2.

Middlesboro (55) - Cecil Hoskins 3, Tyler Hatmaker 13, Joe Mayes 18, Stuart Miller 13, Daniel Griffin 3, Nick Smith 2, Will Harrison 3.

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Red Bird 6 17 10 13 - 46

Harlan 21 31 21 8 - 81

RED BIRD (6-10) - C.R. Berry 8, Daniel Collett 11, Derek Davis 6, John Sizemore 4, D.J. Sizemore 13, Kurt Fogleman 2, Ezra Jack 2.

HARLAN (15-5) - John Smith 23, Ryan Clem 23, Jon Graham 4, Stephen Brown 4, Robbie Curtis 10, Jaymes Kelly 8, Casey Huff 5, Mark O'Neill 2, Derek Sheffield 2.