Coming off a hard-fought district win a night earlier against Whitley County, the South Laurel Cardinals struggled to find themselves through a quarter in a Saturday afternoon game at Harlan.

Junior guard J.J. Ramey took it upon himself to change the Cardinals’ fortunes in the second quarter as he scored 11 points in the period to extend a three-point advantage to 14 at halftime. South limited the Dragons to only five points in the third quarter to pull away for a 63-38 victory.

Ramey scored 19 points to lead the 14-3 Cardinals. Ryan Anders and Matthew Cromer added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Harlan (1-12) was led by junior guard Jared Hawkins with eight points off the bench. Jacob Wilson and Kilian Ledford added seven points each.

Ramey and Cromer each had two baskets in the first quarter as South built a 14-11 lead. Ramey’s 3-pointer broke the fifth tie of the period.

Harlan hit only three of 11 shots in the second quarter as South began to pull away, going up 35-21 by the break.

South connected on eight of 14 shots in the third quarter while Harlan hit only two of 11. Cromer, Anders and Logan Madden each had two baskets in the period as the lead grew to 53-26. Baskets by Anders and Cromer gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at 28 points with 4:50 to play.

Harlan travels to Middlesboro on Tuesday for a girls/boys doubleheader. South Laurel plays host to Corbin on Tuesday.

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Sophomore guard Brett Norvell scored 12 points to lead South Laurel to a 62-28 win in junior varsity action. Peyton Parker and Ethan Coots each added nine points. Micah Anders scored eight. Fischer Proffitt and Josh Stines each tossed in five. Zach Allen and Ford Breeding scored four each. Jayce Bowling and Blaine Phelps each chipped in with three.

Sophomore center Jon Eldridge led Harlan (0-4) with nine points. Evan Aslinger and Conner Scearse scored four each. Charles Morton and Trey Barnes contributed three each. Caleb Adkins and Jacob Surber each scored two. Tate Bryson added one.

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South Laurel 63, Harlan 38

SOUTH LAUREL (14-3)

Ryan Anders 7-10 0-2 14, Logan Madden 2-7 0-0 5, Matthew Cromer 5-9 0-1 10, J.J. Ramey 7-16 3-4 19, Clay Weaver 0-0 0-0 0, Brett Norvell 2-6 2-3 7, Alex Hostetler 2-4 0-0 5, Sawyer Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Micah Anders 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Carson 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Coots 0-1 0-0 0, Ford Breeding 0-1 0-0 0, Fischer Proffitt 1-1 0-0 3, Peyton Parker 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Allen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-57 5-10 63.

HARLAN (1-12)

Jordan Akal 2-9 2-2 6, Cade Barnes 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Wilson 3-6 0-0 7, Kilian Ledford 3-12 0-0 7, Jon Eldridge 2-5 2-2 6, Jared Hawkins 3-7 1-2 8, Tyler Carmical 1-1 1-2 4, Carter Barnes 0-1 0-1 0. Totals: 14-42 5-7 38.

South Laurel 14 21 18 10 — 63

Harlan 11 10 5 12 — 38

3-point goals: South Laurel 6-19 (Ramey 2-6, Proffitt 1-1, Madden 1-2, Hostetler 1-2, Norvell 1-3, Smith 0-1, Cromer 0-4), Harlan 5-22 (Hawkins 2-4, Carmical 1-1, Wilson 1-3, Ledford 1-9, Akal 0-5). Rebounds: South Laurel 36 (Ramey 10, R. Anders 6, Cromer 5, Weaver 3, Norvell 3, M. Anders 3, Parker 3, Madden 1, Hostetler 1, Smith 1), Harlan 23 (Eldridge 11, Wilson 6, Ledford 3, Akal 1, Carmical 1, Carter Barnes 1). Turnovers: South Laurel 11, Harlan 17. Fouled out: None.