Harlan rolled to the Jim Lankster Classic championship Saturday by using its favorite weapon in a 71-58 win over Belfry to complete a three-game sweep in the tournament.

The 7-5 Dragons hit 14 3-pointers, led by Cade Barnes and Kilian Ledford with four each and Jared Hawkins and Jordan Akal with three each.

Akal scored 19 points to lead the Dragons, one of five in double figures. Barnes tossed in 14 points, followed by Ledford with 13, Hawkins with 11 and Jon Eldridge with 10.

Canaan Fletcher scored 18 and Brett Coleman added 16 for the 1-6 Pirates.

Harlan will play in a tournament at Buckhorn from Thursday through Saturday.

———

Harlan 71, Belfry 58

BELFRY (1-6)

Avery Browning 4 0-1 10, Dezmon Roblee 3 3-5 9, Tyler May 2 0-0 4, Canaan Fletcher 6 4-6 18, Brett Coleman 7 2-3 16, Jax Thompson 0 1-2 1, Justin Barker 0 0-0 0, Caleb Spears 0 0-0 0. Totals: 22 10-17 58.

HARLAN (7-5)

Jordan Akal 5 6-7 19, Cade Barnes 5 0-0 14, Jared Hawkins 3 2-2 11, Kilian Ledford 4 1-3 13, Jon Eldridge 4 2-2 10, Jaedyn Gist 0 0-0 0, Kaleb McLendon 1 0-0 2, Caleb Adkins 0 0-0 0, Carter Barnes 0 0-0 0, Tate Bryson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 11-14 71

Belfry 11 16 10 21 — 58

Harlan 14 18 22 17 — 71

3-point goals: Belfry 4 (Browning 2, Fletcher 2), Harlan 14 (Cade Barnes 4, Ledford 4, Hawkins 3, Akal 3)

LEXINGTON — With his Green Dragons down by 10 points midway through the second quarter and in danger of being buried by Model in the second round of the Jim Lankster Classic at Sayre, Harlan’s Jon Eldridge flipped the script.

Harlan’s junior center scored on the Dragons’ final five possessions of the half to bring the Dragons within two by the break. Eldridge continued his strong play in the second half, finishing with 22 points and 18 rebounds as Harlan won 53-45.

“Jon kind of took over late in half when we were struggling,” Harlan coach Derrick Akal said. “He has really been playing well the last couple of weeks,, averaging 15-16 rebounds a game. He is one of those kids getting his legs under him after football.”

Freshman guard Jordan Akal added 14 points as the Dragons improved to 2-0 in tournament pay and 6-5 overall.

Senior guards Adam Lewis and Malik Johnson led the 5-5 Patriots with 19 and 14 points, respectively, carrying the Model offense early. The duo teamed for five baskets in the opening quarter as Model built a 14-7 lead. Harlan turned the ball over four times in the period and missed 10 of 14 shots.

“They came out in that extended 3-2 zone, something we hadn’t seen this year,” Akal said. “It took us a while to adjust to that, but we played better the second half.”

Model hit only three of 13 shots in the third quarter but maintained a one-point lead going into the final period. Kilian Ledford hit a pair of 3-pointers to carry the Harlan offense in the period.

Harlan’s defense took over in the fourth quarter as the Patriots missed 11 of 13 shots. Akal and Ledford each hit 3-pointers in a 10-0 run that turned a two-point deficit into an eight-point lead the Dragons never relinquished.

The tournament concludes Saturday with Harlan playing Belfry.

———

Harlan 53, Model 45

HARLAN (6-5)

Jordan Akal 4-11 3-4 14, Cade Barnes 0-4 0-0 0, Jaeden Gist 1-1 0-0 2, Kilian Ledford 3-16 0-0 9, Jon Eldridge 7-11 8-10 22, Kaleb McLendon 1-2 1-2 4, Carter Barnes 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-46 12-16 53.

MODEL (5-5)

Adam Lewi 5-19 8-10 19, Malik Johnson 5-13 3-4 14, Crase Pingleton 0-3 0-0 0, Josh Barrick 0-2 0-0 0, Luke Keck 0-3 0-0 0, Chris Otieno 0-3 5-6 5, Mathew Frazier 3-5 1-2 7, Frank Zovi 0-1 0-0 0, Bryon Perry 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Lemiux 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Perry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-49 17-22 45.

Harlan 7 15 12 19 — 53

Model 14 10 11 10 — 45

3-point goals: Harlan 7-29 (Akal 3-9, Ledford 3-14, McLendon 1-2, Cade Barnes 0-4), Model 2-16 (Johnson 1-4, Lewis 1-5, PIngleton 0-1, Otieno 0-2, Barrick 0-4). Rebounds: Harlan 32 (Eldridge 18, Ledford 5, Akal 4, McLendon 2, Carter Barnes 2, Gist 1), Model 28 (Johnson 11, Lewis 5, Keck 4, M. Frazier 3, Pingleton 1, Barrick 1, Otieno 1, Zovi 1, Perry 1). Turnovers: Harlan 13, Model 9. Fouled out: None.