The Harlan County Black Bears continued their march to the championship game of the Smoky Mountain Classic with a 71-39 victory Friday over 9th Region foe Villa Madonna.

For Harlan County (9-2), three players reached double figures, led by guards Tyler Cole, a sophomore, and Taylor Spurlock, a junior, with 16 points each. Freshman guard Jackson Huff came off the bench to add 10.

The Bears were without senior guard Alex Pace, who did not play due to illness.

Forward James Thole led the 5-7 Vikings with 12 points.

After a competitive first quarter, the Bears began to stretch their lead behind Spurlock’s seven points and Huff’s eight to build a 35-19 lead going into the break. In the second half, the Bears outscored the Vikings 36-20 to set the final victory margin at 32. Cole led the HCHS scoring with 10 points in the half.

The Bears now move on to the championship game of the tournament and face 13th Region rival North Laurel at 1 p.m at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School.

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Harlan County (71) — Gabe Price 3, James Smith 5, Tyler Cole 16, Taylor Spurlock 16, Patrick Bynum 4, Josh Turner 1, Elisha Smallwood 9, Jackson Huff 10, Alex Nantz 0, James Gray 0, Jayden Ward 4, Adam Boggs 0, Brayden Cox 3.

Villa Madonna (39) — Cam Zalla 2, Dom Martin 6, Michael Schueter 5, Nathan Junker 2, Ben Zalla 7, James Thole 12, Drew Kemper 2, Niko Papakirk 3.