LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — You led the No. 5 team in the state with 1:17 to play before falling 51-47. This was a George Rogers Clark team with just three losses. One loss to unbeaten and top-ranked Madison Central. A second loss to 10th Region rival Montgomery County. And the third loss to last year’s state runner-up, Rowan County.

Is it time to sit back and enjoy a moral victory?

“I hope not. Because I think we let one slip away,” North Laurel coach Brad Sizemore said. “Clark County has a really nice team, but I thought we had them on the ropes.”

That was the message Sizemore had for his team after a thriller was settled by Bopper Stenzel’s three-pointer with 23 seconds to play.

“I’ll put it this way. We played the way we are capable of playing tonight. I told them if we can do that for the next seven games leadng up to February 20 we’re going to have a chance to do something,” Sizemore said. “We looked like a totally different team just because of effort and energy.

On the day that North Laurel found it drew Red Bird in the first round of the 49th District Tournament, the Jaguars played like a team that thought they could compete with anyone. That is something Sizemore has looked for since taking over the team this season.

“A lot of times we just need a little confidence. I hope this game gives it to them,” Sizemore said.

The confidence showed from Marcus Carson’s layup in the opening seconds and remained up to and after  Ethan Eversole’s free throws gave North Laurel’s its final lead with 1:17 remaining. There were 15 lead changes in all with the largest lead seven point by the Cardinals in the first quarter.

“We have guys that stepped up and played tonight. With this team, it just comes down to they have to be self motivated. They were motivated tonight and they played with energy,” Sizemore said.

After a pair of early lead changes, the Jaguars did hit their longest dry spell of the game. Just one field goal in the final four minutes of the first quarter allowed GRC to open its largest lead. Most of the damage by Clark came from Stenzel’s 10 first-quarter points. North Laurel went to a box-and-one after the first quarter and limited Stenzel to one field goal in the second half. It just happened to be the game-winner.

North trailed 22-17 after one quarter with Carson hitting a layup in the closing seconds. Austin Rush scored inside to open the second quarter. Then Carson made two more electric moves. First a end-to-end drive on a rebound. A shake-and-bake move in the lane which he finished with a fade gave North Laurel a 23-22 lead. Just over 30 seconds later, Carson went to the bench with three fouls.

Rush picked up the slack by scoring the next six points for North Laurel, starting with a tough offensive board. He added a turnaround jumper in the paint and then Jake Allen found Rush cutting to the basket. Even with Carson sitting, the Jaguars managed a 31-31 halftime tie.

Before the first points of the second half, Carson drew his fourth foul on a moving pick. Even when GRC scored on an Adam Fatkin dunk, the Jaguars were not shaken. The back and forth continued.

When Eversole gave North Laurel the lead with 1:17, the play that GRC got probably wasn’t the one it wanted. Charlie Rogers used a crossover to get into the lane. With Rush and Allen closing down the middle, he tossed back out to Stenzel for the three-pointer.

“They had been running those screens for him, but I think it was just one of those freak plays that kind of busted wide open,” Sizemore said.

North Laurel drew up a play, but its play also didn’t go as planned. A lob inside to Rush ended as a turnover.

“That’s not what we drew up, but that’s a credit to them. They put a lot of pressure on us,” Sizemore said. “Hopefully this game will help us because they guarded us about as good as anybody.”

After a free throw by MalachI Israel with 7.8 seconds, the Jaguars still had a chance. With the lead at three-points, the Jaguars sent Taylor Bowling to the line for two free throws still trailing by three. Bowling made the first and the Jaguars were unable to claim the rebound on the second.

“We have to come back on Monday. That’s the thing. It can‘t be game-to-game” Sizemore said. “I told them to build off this. If we play like that, we can play with anybody we have left on the schedule.”

The Jaguars host Leslie County tonight and then play at South Laurel on Friday.



George Rogers Clark 51, North Laurel 47

George Rogers Clark 22   9 8 12—51

North Laurel            17 14 4 12—47

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK (51)—Van Cleve 3, Israel 1, Stenzel 22, Rogers 11, Fatkin 14.

NORTH LAUREL (47)—Carson 11, Shears 1, Allen 13, Eversole 7, Henson 1, Rush 13, Bowling 1.

mhoward@sentinel-echo.com