LEXINGTON — Harlan County opened play in the Mack, Miller and Lofton Tournament with a 67-25 rout of Nicholas County on Saturday evening at the Kentucky Basketball Commission.

Eighth-grade guard Trent Noah was one of three Bears in double figures with 16 points. Taylor Spurlock and Tyler Cole added 15 points each. Jackson Huff chipped in with nine points, followed by Hunter Helton with five, Josh Turner with four and Jacob Wilson with three.

The Bears wasted no time taking control, racing to an 18-2 lead with the help of eight points by Spurlock. Noah scored 11 points in the half as the Bears extended their advantage to 37-12 by halftime.

Baskets by Noah and Spurlock pushed the lead to 51-15, the Cole and Helton had baskets for a 40-point advantage.

Harlan County (15-6) will play Oneida Baptist on Sunday at 10 a.m. in the tournament quarterfinals. Oneida Baptist advanced with a win over Breathitt County.

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Harlan County played perhaps its best game of the summer in falling 86-71 to a powerful Louisviille Male squad. The Bears pulled within three, at 69-66, with 2:50 left after two free throws by Taylor Spurlock and trailed by four with 1:52 to play before Male reeled off nine straight points to reclaim control.

Spurlock poured in 32 points to lead the Bears. Wilson scored 20. Cole added seven, followed by Huff with six, Noah with four and Turner with two.

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The Harlan County freshman team closed pool play with a 51-34 loss to Henry Clay.

Jonah Swanner and Daniel Carmical led the Bears with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Dylan Hicks scored five, followed by Tristan Cooper and Cameron Lester with three each and Josh Sergent.

The HCHS freshman fell in tournament play to Pulaski County. The junior varsity team defeated Pulaski County 49-25. No scoring information was available on either game.