Trent Noah's 35 Points Power Harlan County to First-Ever Sweet 16 Quarterfinals
On Thursday, the No. 9 Harlan County Black Bears used hot shooting to defeat the No. 23 Warren Central Dragons 67-59 in the first round of the UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
“The last few years, mountain schools have struggled down here,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “I’m glad these guys got a chance to showcase their talents. We feel like we can play with a lot of people, especially if we are making shots.”
They certainly made shots.
Clinging to a 3-point lead with 1:06 remaining, South Carolina commit Trent Noah nailed a cold-blooded 3-pointer — his sixth of the game — to propel the Harlan County (32-4) to its first-ever Sweet 16 victory. Noah, who will play for Lamont Paris in Columbia, SC next season, scored 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 6-of-8 from downtown. He also added 11 rebounds. Maddox Huff added 15 points, five boards, and four assists for the Black Bears.
“It wasn’t a called play per se, but we wanted to get the ball in (Noah or Huff’s) hands,” Jones said about the final Noah 3-pointer on the under the basket out of bounds play. “I feel like we have one of the best one-two punches in the state.”
“My teammates, they always trust in me to put me in the right spots to help our team win,” Noah said. “I just knew that I needed to step up. Thankfully it went in.”
Warren Central (17-12) got 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists from WKU commit Kade Unseld, despite Harlan County focusing their defensive game plan on stopping him. Elijah Starks added 12 points and 11 boards before fouling out late.
“It has been great coaching him,” Warren Central Coach William Unseld said about his son, Kade. “I didn’t want him to play at all this year (due to lingering injury), but to his credit he wanted to play this year. He was very resilient, very tough. He played at like 70 percent. He wanted to get this team to Rupp.”
Warren Central was trying to become the first team to win back-to-back state titles since Fairdale in the early 1990s, but the Dragons struggled guarding Noah.
“We took a few bad shots at inopportune times,” Coach Unseld said. “We just didn’t make the plays that we need to make. Trent Noah is such a tough matchup at the high school level. Every time our team made a run, we lost him (on defense). We literally left him wide open.”
The Dragons, who graduated four starters from last year’s state championship team, struggled with injuries most of the season. They overcame three losses to rival Bowling Green by beating the highly ranked Purples in the 4th Region finals.
“Nobody thought we were going to get here,” Cadin Hammer said. “Everybody doubted us in the region championship”
“I’m tickled to death with the year we had,” Coach Unseld said. “To get (to Rupp Arena) was great.”
Next Up
Harlan County will play the winner of the game between No. 2 Newport and No. 14 Campbell County on Friday night at 6:00 PM right here at Rupp Arena.
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“I’ve been to this tournament since I can remember,” Coach Jones said. “They say it is the greatest show in hoops and I agree with it.”
Game Recap
First Quarter
Warren Central shot cold early from the outside and Harlan County jumped out to a 14-2, punctuated by back-to-back Huff treys.
Warren Central committed six first-quarter fouls, which Harlan County cashed in for seven points. Starks scored three buckets late in the quarter, including a triple at the buzzer to keep the Dragons within striking distance.
End of First Quarter Score: Harlan County 18, Warren Central 12
Second Quarter
After a scoreless first quarter, Unseld started to heat up, scoring 12 points in the second period, despite the Black Bear defense focusing on him. The Dragons briefly cut the deficit to two points, but Harlan County countered with a Jaycee Carter tip-in and a Reggie Cottrell layup off a beautiful full-court pass from Noah.
The lead eventually grew to seven off a Noah 3-pointer. Warren Central closed the gap on a wild sequence from a Starks steal that led to an Unseld triple at the buzzer. Noah had 13 points and eight boards in the half.
Halftime Score: Harlan County 32, Warren Central 28
Third Quarter
Noah continued his stellar play with old-fashioned three-point plays on back-to-back possessions. Warren Central continued to be plagued by foul trouble, allowing the Black Bears to continue to cash in at the line. They pulled within 44-42 after three-pointers from Hammer and Unseld.
Harlan County finished the half with a flurry thanks to steals and hot shooting. Noah drilled back-to-back triples and Huff added another at the third-quarter buzzer.
End of Third Quarter Score: Harlan County 55, Warren Central 44
Fourth Quarter
After a Noah jumper, Warren Central went to a half-court trap and began to force some Black Bear turnovers. They got put-backs from Starks and Unseld along with an and-1 from Bratton to pull within 57-51. Coach Unseld said they didn’t trap earlier in the game due to foul trouble. Noah picked up his fourth foul on another Bratton and-1 with four minutes remaining.
Noah countered with a triple to push the lead to 60-54. An Unseld made jumper, Black Bear missed 3-pointer, and free throw by Starks pulled the Dragons within three with 2:20 remaining. After missed shots from each team, Starks fouled out with 1:07 left and Noah converted the killer 3-pointer off the out-of-bounds play to push the lead to six. Harlan County added four free throws in the final minute.
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