Black Bears splash 11 3-pointers, Sperry leads Bobcats with 26
HARLAN – February 24, 2021 – Brendon D. Miller
The Bobcats traveled to Harlan on Tuesday night for an Inter-Regional matchup with 13th Region power Harlan County. The Black Bears took the court at 13-4 on the season, but had some questions after losing three in a row from the 8th thru the 12th, before bouncing back with a convincing win over Buckhorn last Saturday. Breathitt was looking for a win over a quality team to cement themselves as a 14th Region contender.
The matchup saw two of the best Freshman, not only in the Mountains, but in the Commonwealth square off. Harlan’s dynamic point guard Trent Noah put up 27 on the night, while Breathitt’s athletic wing Austin Sperry netted 26.
Breathitt opened the game well taking a 21-17 lead to the first break and 33-32 at the half. The 3rd Quarter decided the game as Harlan hit their stride offensively, out-scoring Breathitt 25-17 behind four 3-pointers by Daniel Carmichal, and nine points by Noah. Harlan closed the game at the line in the 4th, as the Bears were 7 of 9 in the period. The most telling stat of the night was the Black Bears only had three (that’s right 3) turnovers on the night.
1st QUARTER
Breathitt received contributions across the board in the 1st. Luke Bellamy hit his first and second 3-pointers of the night while Sperry had five and Tyler Chisty and Bryce Hoskins each added four. Noah had three baskets while Carmichal, Jonah Swanner, Tyler Cole, and Josh Turner each had a field goal. End of the 1st, Bobcats 21 – Black Bears 17.
2nd QUARTER
Sperry was the offense for the Bobcats with nine of the 12 of the Bobcats. Andrew Combs hit his only 3-pointer of the game. Harlan scored all 15 of their points on bombs with Cole hitting two, and Noah, Carmichal and Jackson Huff each knocking down one beyond the arc. At the half, Breathitt led by one, 33-32.
3rd QUARTER
Carmichal hit four 3-pointers, Noah had two baskets and was 5 of 6 at the line, while Cole had two field goals. Sperry kept getting in the lane for the Bobcats with four baskets and totaled nine, while Bellamy hit his third 3-pointer and had five. Harlan out-scored Breathitt 25-16 in the period to lead 57-49 headed to the 4th.
4th QUARTER
Breathitt tried to mount several runs in the 4th. Christy scored three baskets for six, Bellamy hit his 4th 3-pointer and had five, while Hoskins booked four and Sperry closed out his team-high 26 with three. Harlan 0 each run and closed out the game with Noah hitting his only 3-pointer of the night and was four of four for nine to post his game-high 27. Cole added five to his total and Turner posted four.
| Scoring by Quarter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
| HARLAN COUNTY | 17 | 15 | 25 | 20 | 76 |
| BREATHITT COUNTY | 21 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 66 |
LINE SCORE