Led by Jabari Kyle with 14 and Trey Brock with 13, a balanced scoring attack and solid defensive effort proved to be a recipe for success for the Yellow Jackets against Barbourville as they posted a 54-46 victory on Friday.

The game was tightly contested throughout its duration, but the story of the game was how well the Jackets performed from the free-throw line. Connecting on 23-of-27 from the charity stripe, the Jackets were able to hit some big free throws down the stretch to give themselves the victory.

In the opening stanza, the Jackets were able to find scoring from Kyle and Christian Hubbard to give themselves an early leg up on Barbourville. The Jacket offense dwindled slightly in the second quarter, scoring only nine total points.

Middlesboro’s offense exploded in the third quarter, scoring 17 points in the period to separate themselves from the Tigers. The game was still tight heading into the final period, but Middleboro shot exceptionally well from the free-throw line.

With 13 of their 15 total points in the period coming from the charity stripe, Middlesboro’s free throws proved to be the deciding factor in an eight-point victory over the Tigers.

Middlesboro was back in action against Red Bird on February 11. Barbourville faced off against Williamsburg on Monday.

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It was raining threes in the Lady Jacket’s 66-42 victory over the visiting Lady Tigers from Barbourville on Friday. Led by Kailey Owens with 22, Baylee Woody with 15 and Grace Gent with 12, the Lady Jackets notched another region victory.

“We got off to a fast start against Barbourville,” said Middlesboro coach Scott Overbay. “We played great on defense, and we shot the ball exceptionally well.”

Middlesboro came out firing in the first quarter, taking a lead on the Lady Tigers. The Lady Jacket defense held the Lady Tigers to only a single bucket in the second quarter allowing Middlesboro to jump out to a sizeable lead and never look back.

With the game already in hand, the Lady Jackets continued their barrage of 3-pointers heading into the second quarter of the game. With 24 of their 66 points coming from the 3-point line and a stout defense, Middlesboro completely handled every facet of the game against the Lady Tigers and posted a 66-42 victory.

“Davis, Owens, Woody and Gent all played great minutes for us,” said Overbay. “I’m really proud of the way we played, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I think we still have a few things to clean up, but I am proud of how far we’ve come.”

Middlesboro is back in action against Knox Central on February 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Middlesboro. Barbourville will face off against Harlan on February 14 at home at 7:30 p.m.