Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A battle of two teams with a combined win total of 34, went at it in Jackson on Thursday.

Breathitt County placed four players in double-digit scoring to defeat Harlan County 80-68.

Freshman guard Austin Sperry powered the Bobcats with 19 points. Senior forward Jaylen Turner scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Christian Collins, a junior center, added 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting. Junior point-guard Luke Bellamy had 11 points.

Bryce Hoskins, a junior forward, contributed eight points and eight rebounds for Breathitt County. Andrew Combs tossed in seven while Isaac Bellamy scored four.

Sophomore guard Trent Noah led Harlan County with 29 points. Noah, who recently pulled down his 600th career rebounds, has scored 1,751 points in his high school career.

Sophomore guard Jonah Swanner finished with 16 points and Daniel Carmical, a junior guard, scored 11. Jackson Huff tossed in seven while bother Maddox Huff added five.

Breathitt County shot 61 percent from the field on 33 of 54.

The Black Bears have dropped three straight games and four out of their last six.

The Bobcats recently defeated Harlan (63-61) in All “A” Classic State-wide Tournament semifinals before falling to Pikeville (53-44) in the championship game.

Breathitt County (18-5) will face Letcher Central (10-12) in the Scott Blank Classic at Buckhorn on Saturday. The Bobcats will visit Hazard on Monday before playing host to Powell County on Tuesday.

Harlan County (16-8) played Louisville St. Xavier on Saturday at Kentucky State University. The Black Bears will visit Harlan on Tuesday in a key-district matchup with the Dragons. HC travels to Middlesboro on Friday in another district doubleheader.

Harlan County is scheduled to close the regular season with home games against Williamsburg (Feb. 15) and Red Bird (Feb. 17).
— — — — —
Breathitt County (80) — Austin Sperry 19, Jaylen Turner 17, Christian Collins 14, Luke Bellamy 11, Bryce Hoskins 8, Andrew Combs 7, Isaac Bellamy 4, Caden Turner 0.
Harlan County (68) — Trent Noah 29, Jonah Swanner 16, Daniel Carmical 11, Jackson Huff 7, Maddox Huff 5.

Sports contributor Paul Lunsford wrote this for the Harlan Enterprise.