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South Laurel 81 Lafayette 68
#1
Final
#2
Congrats South Laurel!
#3
Congrats South
#4
congrats sl
#5
NCH holds off South Laurel
Tied at break, Trojans win 65-57

FRANKFORT, Ky. - O.J. Mayo sank six free throws during the game's final minute Saturday to spur North College Hill past South Laurel (Ky.) 65-57.

"It was a whole lot closer than I thought," Mayo said.

Mayo finished with 18 points to lead his team.

The Trojans jumped out to an early 19-5 lead, but the Cardinals, the defending Kentucky state champions, outscored North College Hill 25-11 over the next nine minutes to send the game to halftime tied at 30.

A half-court heave at the first-half buzzer could have given South Laurel the lead, but the shot rimmed out.

South Laurel got momentum from a partisan crowd in the second half and, buoyed by Mayo picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, was able to build a 43-37 lead when Trey Smith hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

But the Trojans held the Cardinals scoreless over the next six minutes and capped a 12-0 run when Damon Butler made a 3-pointer and then dished off to Courtney Davis for another basket. Butler finished with 10 points and Davis had eight.

The Trojans' athleticism took over down the stretch, and the Cardinals would get no closer than two the rest of the way.

"I think we pulled together as a team," Mayo said of the Trojans.

Keenan Ellis' 6-foot-11 frame was problematic for South Laurel, whose tallest player was Smith at 6-7. Ellis, who scored 14 points, was named MVP for North College Hill, while Smith, who had 16 points and six rebounds, garnered the honor for the Cardinals.

"Going against guys like this, they're so fast and they're up and down the floor, you've got to stay confident and not let them beat you before it starts," Smith said of NCH, ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today.

NCH's Bill Walker went scoreless in the first half but finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

South Laurel, ranked among the top five teams in Kentucky, shot 7-of-21 on 3-pointers.

The Cardinals got 16 points from Jordan Hammonds and another 12 from Walt Allen.

"We got behind, didn't play well early," said South Laurel coach Steve Wright, who attended Xavier University and got his coaching start at Walton-Verona. "But we fought back. We got a little tired down the stretch."

Mayo, whose varsity high school career started when he played with Walker at Rose Hill Christian Academy at Ashland, said "it was exciting" to be back playing in Kentucky. Their Royals beat South Laurel in the first round of the 2003 Kentucky state tournament.

NCH - Davis 8, Walker 12, Butler 10, Mayo 18, Leary 1, Evans 2, Ellis 14.

SOUTH LAUREL - Proffitt 9, Smith 16, Hammonds 16, Allen 12, Mar*** 4.
#6
congrats SL.

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