By John Henson
Sports Writer

After watching the young Harlan Green Dragons throw quite a scare into Knox Central while sitting in the bleachers in Barbourville a night earlier, Bell County coach Brad Sizemore knew what his squad had to stop if they were to avoid a similar down-to-the-wire game.
“We saw them play Knox Central. They have a solid team, especially considering how young they are. We just wanted to take the 3 ball away, and that’s what we focused on,” Sizemore said. “We played a lot of man the first half and tried to run them off the line. We also did a pretty good job rebounding.”
Harlan hit 12 3-pointers at Knox Central but connected on only three of 13 against Bell as the Bobcats pulled away in the second half for a 76-41 victory.
“Their physicality caused a lot of our turnovers. We have to get more physical,” said Harlan coach Derrick Akal, who drew a technical in the third quarter as Bell took control by outscoring the Dragons 28-9.
Blake Burnett scored 22 points and Cameron Hall added 21 to lead the 4-3 Bobcats, who improved to 2-0 in district action. Bell, now one of the region’s most experienced teams with everyone back from last season, found success off the dribble last night.
“The last couple of years we’ve had to try to finesse everyone,” Sizemore said. “We challenged our guys because we’re a year older. We did a good job for the most part.”
Freshman guard Ethan Huff scored 15 to lead the Dragons. Izack Saylor added nine, including a highlight reel dunk off a missed shot.
“When we drive, their physicality doesn’t allow us to get layups,” Akal said. “They bump us off the line. Our best shot we’ll get in this region is probably 3s. Other teams are so much bigger and stronger and more physical that we can’t get there.”
Harlan (1-6) will play Spring Hill, Tenn., on Friday in the Pulaski County Classic. Bell County (4-3) plays host to Belfry on Friday in the Redmond Aug Group Holiday Classic.
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Bell County 76, Harlan 41

BELL COUNTY (4-3)
Cameron Hall 6-8 7-8 21, Jaxon Thomas 1-6 0-0 2, Blake Burnett 8-13 4-6 22, Cayden Huff 2-8 3-4 7, Ethan Buell 5-8 5-5 16, Braxton Ferguson 1-6 0-0 3, Kaleb Cornett 0-0 0-0 0, Eli Knuckles 0-0 0-0 0, Kenton Brock 1-2 0-0 2, Jacob Grubbs 1-1 0-0 3, Luke Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-53 19-23 76.
HARLAN (1-6)
Ethan Huff 7-15 0-0 15, Jaxson Perry 2-12 2-4 6, Izack Saylor 3-11 3-3 9, Dylan Cox 0-4 0-0 0, Kobe Noe 1-4 1-2 3, Nate Montanaro 2-3 0-0 5, Braxton Rowe 1-1 0-0 3, Eli Noe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-49 6-9 41.

Bell County 13 19 28 16 — 76
Harlan 7 14 9 11 — 41
3-point goals: Bell County 7-17 (Hall 2-3, Burnett 2-5, Grubbs 1-1, Buell 1-3, Ferguson 1-3, Thomas 0-2), Harlan 3-13 (Montanaro 1-1, Rowe 1-1, Huff 1-4, Perry 0-3, Cox 0-3, Saylor 0-7). Rebounds: Bell County 25 (Burnett 13, Buell 6, Huff 2, Hall 1, Thomas 1, Ferguson 1, Brock 1), Harlan 31 (Perry 9, Noe 9, Saylor 7, Cox 4, Huff 2). Turnovers: Bell County 6, Harlan 16. Fouled out: Harlan (K. Noe). Technical fouls: Harlan (bench, Cox).