The Middlesboro Men’s League wrapped up on Thursday night as Cora defeated Sweet as Honey, 99-59, in the championship game.

With the tournament being double-elimination, Sweet as Honey had to defeat Dynamic Machine for a chance at the championship. Cora, the reigning champions, were undefeated heading into the championship game.

Sweet as Honey defeated Cora in the first game of the finals, handing Cora their first loss of the season. With both teams needing only one win for the championship, the final game of the season was set.

Cora came out hot in the final game with Tyler Potter and Larry Helton shooting lights out from long-range. Potter, the former Bell County stand out, connected on 11 3-pointers during the final game and was named tournament MVP.

With Sweet as Honey unable to match Cora’s potent offense, the reigning champions began to pull away and secure a 99-59 victory, and their seventh consecutive Middlesboro Men’s League championship.

Cora point guard and former Middlesboro standout guard Blake Davis credits his teammates with team chemistry and cohesiveness.

“This is the seventh year that we’ve done this,” said Davis. “This is a great group of guys out here. We have an incredible team and incredible talent all over. We all play well together, we enjoy being around one another and these guys make my job easy. This is a great league and we love being able to play in it.”

Former Bell County standout guard Tyler Potter echoed Davis’ sentiment. “I’ve played in this league for a long time now, and it’s still as fun as it was when I started,” said Potter. “We’ve got a great group of guys that love playing with one another and we all get along. We’ve got talent and size, so when we are all playing well. We are a great team.”

Former Pineville standout forward/center Byron Asher contends with his teammates that they have wonderful talent and chemistry.

“I’ve been doing this eight years on and off,” said Asher. “This is my first championship in this league. No matter what level you are competing at, having the opportunity to come out here and compete against other good athletes is awesome. It’s fun to come out here and play with these guys. We have a lot of great players on this team and we all play well together. It’s been a great time over the summer.”

All-Tournament Team

LaVon Poindexter

Jeremy Smith

Blake Davis

Larry Helton

Nathan Hatmaker

Tournament MVP:

Tyler Potter