Junior guard Ben Madon, who finished with a game-high 17 points, scored the first eight points for the Bobcats. Tanner Lefevers added a 3-pointer and Keith Lowe’s basket midway through the first period put Bell up 13-4.
The Bobcats were just getting started. After Tyrek Simmons hit a 3-pointer for the Black Bears, Bell County finished the quarter on a 10-0 run to take a commanding 23-7 lead.
John Dudley Hilton scored inside, Madon and Lefevers both hit 3s and Kyle Lee scored after grabbing an offensive rebound with less than five seconds remaining in the quarter.
Bell coach Lewis Morris praised the team’s defensive intensity at the start of the game. It was welcome turnaround from the Bobcats’ flat performance Tuesday in a 59-42 loss to North Laurel.
“I didn’t really jump on them. I just told them I can’t coach a bunch that won’t play hard. If they’re not going to play hard, they need to find someone else to coach them,” he said. “With school being out and all the snow days, they were probably laying around and playing PlayStation and all that stuff. That probably had a little bit to do with it.
“If we don’t play hard, we can’t play with anybody. But when they play together and they play hard and execute, they look pretty good and they’re fun to coach.”
The Bobcats opened the game in a diamond and one defense with Hilton shadowing Harlan County senior guard Kyle Hogue. Hogue, who came in as the Bears’ leading scorer at over 20 points per game, scored just one point in the first half and never got on track as he was held to seven points in the game on 2-of-7 shooting.
“John Dudley brings it. He brings it every night,” Morris said. “I told him he needs to play hard for us to do the things that we need to do. He stepped up and he always gives a great effort.”
The Bobcats held Harlan County scoreless from the 4:20 mark of the first quarter until T.J. Green’s free throw with 4:00 to play in the half made it 25-8.
“We told our kids that this was going to be a physical game and that we needed to match their intensity and toughness, and we didn’t. We only had a couple of kids that held their own as far as aggressiveness,” said Black Bear coach Mike Jones. “I’m disappointed with the lack of toughness that we showed, and the way we didn’t react to the way they were playing.”
Harlan County got four points from Jecory Fields and Green scored on a putback at the 2:30 mark to cut Bell’s lead to 25-15. But Lefevers brought an end to that run with two-pointer with 1:52 left in the half and Lee drained a 3-pointer as the Bobcats took a 30-15 lead into halftime.
“He really stepped up. He’s been getting better the last three or four weeks at coming in and being aggressive, not just waiting on the outside,” Morris said of Lefevers, a sophomore guard. “I thought all the kids came out aggressive tonight. They were moving well, we rebounded the ball and played physical.”
Bell County answered just about every Bear basket in the third quarter and extended their lead to 19, 43-24, on baskets by Justin Patterson and Madon late in the quarter.
Lowe gave the Bobcats their biggest lead of the night at 21 points on two occasions with inside baskets early in the fourth quarter. By the time Hogue hit a 3 to make it 47-29, there were less than five minutes to play.
“We were shooting the ball a little too soon instead of drawing some contact and taking the ball to the hole. We missed a bunch of easy shots,” Jones said
Harlan County out-scored Bell 9-4 the rest of the way to trim the final margin to 13.
“The first four minutes of the fourth quarter we did an excellent job. We turned them over, made them miss and got good shots,” Morris said. “All of a sudden fatigue sets in and we got mentally weak.”
Joining Madon in double figures for the Bobcats were Lowe with 11 points and Lefevers with 10. Green led the Bears with 11 while Fields finished with eight.
“Harlan County didn’t look like they were moving well tonight. It will be a different development the next time we play them,” Morris said. “But this was a good win for us in a big district contest.”
Bell County (7-7 overall, 2-0 in district play) is back in action tonight as they travel to Harlan. Harlan County (11-4, 2-1) will return to action on Saturday against Madison Southern in the Colt Classic at West Jessamine High School.
Post a Comment
