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By Paul Lunsford

Senior guard Tyler Cole became the seventh member of the Harlan County High School 1,000-point club on Thursday as the Black Bears rolled to a 77-34 win over visiting Whitley County.

Cole (1,003) joins Cameron Carmical (1,764), Treyce Spurlock (1,566), Tyler Brewer (1,344), Alex Sergent (1,183), Chad Massingill (1,120) and Taylor Spurlock (1,027) for this remarkable feat.

“What’s impressive about Tyler’s 1,000 points is that he only had 15 as a freshman, so he basically did it in three years,” said Harlan County coach Michael Jones. “He’s not only a tremendous basketball player, but he’s an even better person. I’m extremely happy for him.”

The Black Bears connected on 15 of 28 3-pointers. Eighth-grader Maddox Huff nailed five, followed by Cole with four, Daniel Carmical with three and Trent Noah with two. Tristan Cooper added one.

Cole powered the Bears with 23 points. Huff finished with 15 points. Noah followed with 14. Carmical scored 11.

“We’ve been talking a week or two about playing downhill and not shooting as many 3s,” said Jones. “But it’s hard not to shoot when you are making them. I always want the kids to shoot with confidence. They got on a roll in the second half.”

Braydon Mahan, a sophomore guard, and Trevor Downs, a junior forward, each tossed in eight points for the 3-11 Colonels, who started the season off 3-0, but have dropped 11 straight.

Cole fired in 10 first-quarter points as Harlan County took an 18-11 advantage after eight minutes.

Cole had 11 points and Noah scored nine as the Black Bears used a 25-7 outburst in the second to lead 43-18 at the break.

HC hit nine of 18 from the field in the second quarter. The Bears nailed eight treys in the first half.

Whitley County was hampered with 15 first-half turnovers and had only five field goals.

Carmical sunk two 3-pointers and Noah added on as the Bears opened the second half with a 9-0 run.

Another trey by Carmical and a putback by Josh Turner extended the lead to 57-21 with 6:53 left in the third quarter.

Jonah Swanner had two straight baskets as Harlan County took a 66-27 advantage into the final quarter with a running clock.

HC hit nine of 14 from the field in the period.

Maddox Huff nailed a pair of 3’s and Cooper added another as the Bears opened the quarter with an 11-1 run.

The Colonels, who committed 19 turnovers, closed the game with a 6-0 run led by Cody Senters and Jackson Petrey with three points apiece.

The Bears shot 56 percent (29 of 52) from the field compared to the Colonels’ 26 percent (10 of 38).

HC outrebounded Whitley 28-23. Jackson Huff grabbed a team-high eight boards for the Bears. Downs had six for the Colonels.

Whitley County was missing several players, including two who recently left the team and two others that have reportedly transferred.

Harlan County (15-4) returns to action Saturday morning at 11:45 against Wolfe County in the Big Lou Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Buckhorn. The Bears will play host Perry Central on Thursday.

The Colonels are scheduled to host Williamsburg on Saturday, travel to South Laurel on Tuesday, visit Williamsburg on Thursday before hosting Corbin on Friday.

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Freshman guard Caleb Johnson fired in 26 points as Harlan County improved to 4-4 on the season with a 54-19 victory in the junior varsity game.

Ethan Rhymer scored nine points. Jeremiah Clem added eight. Jared Rhymer tossed in six while Taelor Haywood scored three. Samuel Henson had two points.

Caleb Wetherill paced Whitley County with eight points. Centers scored five.

WHITLEY COUNTY (3-11)
Braydon Mahan 2-7 4-6 8, Jamie Fuson 2-6 2-4 6, Ethan Keene 0-5 4-4 4, Lucas Queener 1-4 0-0 2, Trevor Downs 3-7 2-2 8, Pierce Bowlin 0-4 0-0 0, Jackson Petrey 1-4 1-2 3, Cody Senters 1-1 0-0 3, Cooper Prewitt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 10-38 13-18 34.

HARLAN COUNTY (15-4)
Trent Noah 5-11 2-2 14, Tyler Cole 9-13 1-2 23, Daniel Carmical 4-6 0-0 11, Jackson Huff 0-5 0-2 0, Josh Turner 1-2 0-0 2, Jonah Swanner 2-2 0-0 4, Tristan Cooper 2-2 1-2 6, Maddox Huff 5-9 0-0 15, Jared Rhymer 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Rhymer 0-1 0-0 0, Caleb Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Clem 0-0 0-0 0, Samuel Henson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-52 4-8 77.

Whitley County 11 07 09 07 – 34
Harlan County 18 25 23 11 – 77

3-Point goals: Whitley County 1-9 (Senters 1-1, Fuson 0-1, Petrey 0-1, Queener 0-1, Keene 0-2, Bowlin 0-3), Harlan County 15-28 (M. Huff 5-8, Cole 4-5, Carmical 3-4, Noah 2-4, Cooper 1-1, E. Rhymer 0-1, J. Huff 0-5). Rebounds: Whitley County 23 (Downs 6), Harlan County 28 (J. Huff 8). Assists: Whitley County 1 (Mahan 1), Harlan County 14 (Noah 8). Turnovers: Whitley County 19, Harlan County 12.