Breaking down Friday night’s action at the WYMT Food City Mountain Classic

There are only two nights left in the WYMT Food City Mountain Basketball Classic presented by Kentucky Farm Bureau and sponsored by ARH. Let’s take a look at the Girls Third Place tilt between Bell County/North Laurel while we also break down the Boys’ Semifinal matchups between Breathitt County/Knox Central and Perry Central/Harlan.

No. 6 Bell County (2-2) vs. No. 2 North Laurel (3-1) – 5 p.m.

The Lady Cats had no answers for Shelby Valley on Thursday night as they fell for the second time this season, 67-39.

North Laurel jumped out to be a big lead but could not hang on as they lost their first game of the season against Knott Central on Thursday night, 73-67 in overtime. Senior Hailee Valentine had a team-high 25 points.

These two teams will face off for the second time this season. The Lady Jaguars won the first contest, 75-61 back on December 2nd in the Legacy Nissan Classic.

No. 6 Breathitt County (3-0) vs. No. 1 Knox Central (2-0) – 6:45 p.m.

The Bobcats trailed for a large part of the game against Johnson Central but John Noble’s squad found a way to steal it from the Golden Eagles on Tuesday night with a 52-47 victory. Three players reached double figures in the win against Johnson Central including Jaylen Turner as the senior led Breathitt County with 11 points. Freshman Austin Sperry and junior Luke Bellamy also recorded ten points each. Turner and Sperry co-led the Bobcats in rebounds with nine.

Tony Patterson’s crew had their way early and often against Shelby Valley as they defeated the Wildcats going away, 75-48. Senior Jevonte Turner had a game-high 37 points, putting him in a tie with Cawood’s Blake Hubbs for the seventh-most points in a game in Boys’ Mountain Classic history. Turner also broke the school record for most points in a Mountain Classic game that was previously set by Matthew Barger, who had 35 against Lawrence County back in 2015 edition of the classic.

These two schools will be meeting for the first time since 2008. Knox Central won that contest, 70-58.

Perry Central (2-1) vs. No. 7 Harlan (1-0) – 8:30 p.m.

The Commodores pulled off the upset on Wednesday night as they knocked off the third-ranked Tigers, 64-47. Junior Dylan Knight led the team in scoring with 13 points while junior Tyler Day was Perry Central’s other double-digit scorer with 12 points. Senior Dylan Brock recorded a team-high eight rebounds.

The Green Dragons found a way to gut out the victory against Knott Central on Wednesday night in a low-scoring affair, 43-39. Jaedyn Gist was the leading scorer for Harlan as the junior tallied 16 points. Senior Jordan Akal generated 14 points.

The last time Perry Central and Harlan met was back in 2020. That was 74-57 victory for the Green Dragons.