HARREL SCORED 13 IN FOURTH QUARTER, BEARCATS WIN OPENER

Noah Harrel had the hot hand down the stretch in a 70-63 Bearcat win over Western Yell County in the season opener Tuesday night.

Harrel scored with 4:34 to play to tie the game at 60-60. He hit a 3 1:01 later to give the Bearcats a 63-60 lead and, with the score tied at 63, drained another 3 with 1:55 left for a Bearcat lead they would not relinquish.

Harrel had a pair of free throws with 28.9 seconds to go to make it a five point lead and two by Colter Fisher 14 seconds later sealed it.

Scoreless since the first quarter, Harrel scored 13 fourth quarter points and finished with 19 points. He also had a team best seven rebounds.

To say Monday’s Bearcats season opening win had peaks and valleys might be an understatement.

Twice in the opening quarter the Wolverines held a 14-point lead with the first trimmed by a Harrel 3 – he had five in the game.

Before halftime the Bearcats had taken a brief two-point lead, their first of the night.

It was Fisher (shown) who fueled the comeback. The junior scored the final points of the first quarter then scored nine of his team’s next 11 to cut the Wolverine lead to 31-26 with 3:40 to play in the first half.

Fisher would lead all players with 29 points and he had five rebounds.

A pair of CJ Johnson free throws and a 3 by Johnson would pull the Bearcats even for the first time at 33-33.

Fisher scored again to give the Bearcats the lead and after WYC went back in front, he made it a 37-36 halftime score with one of two free throws.

There had been four lead changes in the first 1:21 of the third quarter before a 3 by Aiden Carter knotted the game at 43-43 and started an 8-0 run that was five more points from Fisher to make it 48-43 with 5:19 to go in the quarter.

The Bearcats led by five but then went more than five minutes without scoring during which time Western Yell went up by six at 54-48.

Johnson stopped the run with a 3 and it was a one possession game going to the final quarter.

It was a five point lead WYC lead with 6:29 to go after a pair of technical foul free throws but the Bearcats scored the next 10 then and pulled out to their biggest lead of the night at the end of the game.

Harrel started the final Bearcat surge with a 3 and tied it after a basket by Johnson.

Johnson totaled 12 points on the night to go along with six assists and four steals.