[Stardust]

LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — CORBIN—North Laurel could be described as a blue-collar team willing to work a little overtime. The Jaguars rallied in the fourth quarter and then outlasted Clay County 54-52 in the extra period to punch the school’s first trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

“People stepped up and made plays,” North Laurel coach Brad Sizemore said. “I know we’ve got kids that care. We’ve got people that come to work every day.”

Monday marked the fifth trip to a region final for North Laurel. The Jaguars lost in the 12th Region finals to South Laurel in 2001, 2003, and 2005. They also lost in the 13th Region title game to Corbin 65-42 in 2010. Ryan Shears, Ethan Eversole, and Taylor Bowling were sophomores on the 2010 squad.

“From the first day, I knew we were going to get here. Not many people thought we would, but I knew we would,” Marcus Carson said.

While the Jaguars were looking for their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen, Clay County hoped to return for the first time since Mike Jones led the team to the quarterfinals in 2001. It has been a long stretch for a team that dominated the region in the days of Bobby Keith.

“We were fully geared to win this thing. In the post season, the kids were meshing well. The kids were playing hard. We were totally focused,” Clay County coach Robert Marcum said. “North Laurel, I will give them credit, they made the plays at the end.”

The Tigers appeared to poised to make that return trip. When Steven Wagers broke open inside with 6:10 in the third quarter, Clay County had a nine-point lead and Carson and Jake Allen were in serious foul trouble. The Tigers had a chance to push the lead to double figures. The North Laurel rally started there.

“We came up with defensive plays and big shots,” Sizemore said.

You could feel the energy building on the court and in the stands beginning with a putback by Allen. The Jaguars would outrebound Clay County in the third quarter and also go without a turnover. The teams swapped a few free throws with North Laurel still trailing 30-24 with three minutes in the third quarter.

The Tigers were about to be introduced to Kendrick Henson.

“It’s unbelievable. These guys just told me they needed me and I had to step up. I had to step up sometime and why not right now,” Henson said.

First Henson slashed down the baseline for a layup. After a smooth jumper by Clay County’s Tyler McDaniel off a screen, Henson answered with a three-pointer on an assist from Carson. Henson made one of his five steals on the next Clay County possession.

“The game was over and he came through and made big steals. He’s a gamer. He’s been doing it all week, all year,” Sizemore said.

A drive by Eversole had the Jaguars within a point with 30 seconds, but there was enough time for Brandon Word to answer for Clay County. The Tigers again tried for the knockout to start the fourth quarter. Clay County scored two quick baskets before Austin Rush came through with an offensive rebound for a three-point play. Word answered with a three-point play for a 41-34 lead with 6:35 remaining. Henson was there again with a three-pointer.

“We weren’t guarding his three in the beginning because we wanted him to prove he could make them. Obviously he made a couple and we had to make an adjustment. That kind of freed up their inside play a little bit,” Marcum said.

North Laurel held the Tigers without a field goal the final 5:56 of regulation. That gave North Laurel time to rally with Henson’s layup tying the score with 1:37 to play.

Neither team got much of a shot in the final 1:37. Both teams had a shot blocked in the paint. The Tigers turned the ball over on their final possession with 9.9 seconds. All the Jaguars could manage at the end of regulation was a long, desperate shot from Allen.

In overtime, North Laurel looked like a team that thought they were supposed to be right where they were.

“I don’t know any better. The kids don’t know any better. They care about each other and we believed the whole time,” Sizemore said.

Henson stole the overtime tip and drove for a layup to give North Laurel its first lead since the first quarter. Carson followed that up with a steal and layup.

“I could tell in the locker room before the game that these guys wanted it more than anything,” Henson said.

There would be one problem with putting away the Tigers. North Laurel made just 5-of-15 free throws in overtime. Only a solid defense kept Clay County at bay.

“I got a little nervous in the end, I can’t lie. But I knew we would end up pulling it through,” Shear said.

With 1:22 to play, Henson nearly had another steal but in the scramble McDaniel scored to make it a 51-50 game.

“You’ve got to give Clay County a lot of credit. McDaniel is as good as anybody we’ve played all year. He gets free and gets a shot up, it’s going in,” Sizemore said.

North Laurel missed three free throws before Carson made one with 23.6 seconds for a two-point lead.

“I was thinking we can’t let this one slip. We’ve got to get there,” Carson said.

Zach McGeorge missed a shot to tie the game, but Rush claimed a tough rebound in traffic. Rush added another point to the lead from the foul line. With 7.5 seconds, Steven Wagers was fouled so Clay County could not attempt a three-pointer to tie the game. Wagers made both shots for a 53-52 North Laurel lead. The Tigers quickly sent Carson to the line. Carson made the first free throw with 5.7 seconds. A final shot at the win did not fall for Clay County.

“It’s a tough loss. They executed at the main end and we didn’t,” Marcum said. “I’m proud of my boys. They played hard. There wasn’t a whole lot of expectations this year, but when you get this close you want it more than anything.”

The Jaguars next game will be March 14 at noon against Rowan County. The 16th Region champions are coached by former South Laurel assistant Shawn Thacker. The Vikings (25-7) reached the finals of the Sweet Sixteen last year before losing to Christian County in double overtime.

“I hope this win springboards the rest of our kids coming up, the rest of the community, we can do anything if we put our mind to it,” Sizemore said. “We’ve been saying that since day one, even when we were losing in January. Our goal has been to get to Lexington, Rupp Arena. We’re going next Wednesday.”

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