LONDON — An athletic Roger Bacon team from Cincinnati provided a test for Harlan County in the opening round of the Legacy Nissan Classic on Thursday at South Laurel. The Black Bears turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter and trailed through much of the opening 12 minutes before using a 9-0 run to take control on the way to a 55-43 victory.

“They were one of the more athletic and disciplined teams I’ve seen this year,” Harlan County coach Michael Jones said. “It was a good test for us to see if we could handle their pressure. They also moved well offensively, so it also tested us there. It showed us some things we need to work on.”

Senior guard Alex Pace was the only Bear who did not struggle early in the game, hitting four of five shots in the opening period on the way to a 25-point performance.

“I told them at halftime he was the only one who was wasn’t afraid to handle the basketball and we needed more people to step up,” Jones said. “I thought in the second half we did a better job of other people handling it and not forcing us into so many silly turnovers.”

James Smith added 11 points for the 10-3 Bears. Senior guard Patrick Bynum cam off the bench to lead the team with nine rebounds while adding seven points.

“This was Patrick’s kind of game,” Jones said. “We just want him to be more aggressive offensively. We already know he can play defense. If we will score and rebound he could be huge for us the rest of the year.”

Roger Bacon (3-5) was led by center Josiah McGee with 14 points and six rebounds. Marjoni Tate contributed 12 points.

Pace had all but one of the 12 HCHS points in the opening period as the game was tied three times before the Spartans took a 12-10 lead on two baskets by Tate to end the quarter.

Roger Bacon led by three when Smith started a 3-point assault that was followed by a pair of treys from Pace. After a basket by the Spartans’ Zuri Edmonson, Harlan County’s Taylor Spurlock added another 3 for the Bears. A basket by Tyler Cole and two free throws from Pace pushed the Bears’ lead to 28-21 at halftime.

Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Bears started to pull away, building a 41-29 advantage going into the final period.

Roger Bacon closed to within 10 before Spurlock, Pace and Cole ignited a 9-0 run that all but sealed the victory.

Harlan County will play the winner of last night’s North Laurel-South Knoll, S.C. game on Friday at 8:15 p.m. in the semifinals. Roger Bacon (3-5) will play the loser in the consolation bracket at 4:45 p.m.

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Harlan County 55, Roger Bacon 33

ROGER BACON (3-5)

Zuri Edmonson 3-8 0-0 7, Jeremiah Flowers 0-5 0-0 0, Ryan Hallen 1-3 0-0 2, Marjoni Tate 5-6 1-1 12, Josiah McGee 6-15 0-1 14, Luke Byrd 0-3 0-0 0, Tre Munson 1-6 2-3 5, Nick Nonnomaker 0-0 0-0 0, Jonah Allan 1-3 0-0 2, Wesley Henderson 0-1 0-0 0, Nijal Mooney 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Cromer 0-1 0-0 0, Adam Triggs 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 17-52 3-5 43.

HARLAN COUNTY (10-3)

James Smith 4-9 0-0 11, Taylor Spurlock 2-8 2-3 7, Alex Pace 10-15 2-6 25, Tyler Cole 1-5 2-2 4, Gabe Price 0-1 1-2 1, Patrick Bynum 2-3 3-4 7, Josh Turner 0-2 0-0 0, Elisha Smallwood 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 19-54 10-17 55.

Roger Bacon 12 9 8 14 — 43

Harlan County 10 18 13 14 — 55

3-point goals: Roger Bacon 6-19 (McGee 2-7, Tate 1-2, Triggs 1-2, Edmonson 1-3, Munson 1-3, Flowers 0-1, Hallan 0-1), Harlan County 7-18 (Smith 3-5, Pace 3-7, Spurlock 1-3, Price 0-1, Cole 0-1, Bynum 0-1). Rebounds: Roger Bacon 22 (McGee 6, Hallan 4, Tate 2, Byrd 2, Cromer 2, Edmonson 1, Munson 1, Flowers 1, Allen 1, Mooney 1, Triggs 1), Harlan County 36 (Bynum 9, Pace 8, Cole 7, Spurlock 5, Turner 3, Smallwood 2, Smith 1, Price 1). Turnovers: Roger Bacon 13, Harlan County 18. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: Roger Bacon (Flowers).