BELFRY — When Harlan County lost Josh Caldwell and Blake Polson to graduation last spring, most basketball observers in the region considered post play a major question mark for the Black Bears heading into their second season.

The arrival of 6-foot-6 senior center Jecorey Fields, a transfer from Harlan, has helped allay many of those concerns.

Fields was the most dominant player on the floor Tuesday as Harlan County rolled past a rebuilding Morgan County squad 59-32 in the Mountain Schoolboy Classic at Belfry High School. Fields hit nine of 10 shots in the first half as he scored 20 of his game-high 24 points.

“We’ve got to do that consistently, it doesn’t matter who we play,” said Harlan County coach Mike Jones on the Bears’ efforts to get the ball inside. “The kid is 6-foot-6, and it doesn’t hurt to throw it in there whether he shoots it or not. If they collapse on him, he can throw it back to somebody that can hit a wide open jump shot. We did a good job of that.”

Morgan County (2-6) had no answer for Fields with a lineup that had no starters above 6-1.

“He killed us,” Morgan County coach Matthew Perry said. “We probably could have played them man, but I felt if we played them man their guards probably would have taken advantage of our guards.”

Seniors Mike Fyffe and Tanner Roy scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, to lead Morgan County and account for all but two of the Cougars’ field goals.

With Morgan County focusing on Fields, senior forward Kyle Hogue took over in the second half as he hit all five of his shots in the third quarter to help the Bears turn the game into a rout. Hogue scored 11 of his 17 points in the period.

“We made an adjustment for him to get open a little bit closer to the basket,” Jones said. “Our kids did a good job of getting him the ball, and he made the shots. We executed, and we’re a pretty good team when we run what we’re supposed to.”

“We talked at halftime about how important the first four minutes were,” Perry said. “They played harder than us. They went on that run that just killed us.”

Harlan County (9-3) took over defensively in the third quarter as Morgan was limited to two points over the first 11 minutes of the half.

“(Alex) Sergent and (Tyler) Brewer gave us a good lift defensively before the half,” Jones said. “We talked at halftime about how important it was to come out and set the tone and put this bunch away early. We responded well, but we have to continue to improve. We have to start getting mentally tougher.

“I’d like for these kids to take on my mentality, and that was the reason it took so long for us to come out of the locker room before the game. We have some time after this tournament to practice and correct some things, because once we get into January we have a tough schedule with three big district games early.”

Tyrek Simmons hit a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter and Hogue and Fields added baskets as the Black Bears’ lead grew to 53-21 with three minutes left.

Fyffe scored seven straight points down the stretch as Morgan closed the game with a 9-2 run. Chase Calton, Sergent and Chad Massingill had baskets for the Bears in the final two and a half minutes.

Harlan County concludes tournament play tonight at 6 against Scott, W.Va.

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HARLAN COUNTY (9-3)

Tyrek Simmons 3-4 1-2 9, Dustin Bray 0-2 0-0 0, T.J. Green 1-5 0-0 3, Kyle Hogue 8-16 0-0 17, Jecorey Fields 12-16 0-0 24, Tyler Brewer 0-4 0-0 0, Alex Sergent 1-3 0-0 2, Chase Calton 1-3 0-0 2, Shamile Clark 0-0 0-0 0, James Bond 0-3 0-0 0, Marcus McMillian 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Lindsey 0-1 0-0 0, Chad Massingill 1-1 0-0 2, Josh Shelton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-58 1-2 59.

MORGAN COUNTY (2-6)

Tanner Roy 4-9 2-3 11, Patrick Montgomery 1-3 0-0 3, Jared Curd 1-7 0-0 2, Cory Harper 0-1 0-0 0, Mike Fyffe 5-17 3-5 14, Tyler Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Campbell 0-3 2-2 2, Larrin Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Bartley 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Easterling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 11-42 7-10 32.

Harlan County 11 14 16 18 — 59

Morgan County 9 7 2 14 — 32

3-point goals: Harlan County 4-15 (Simmons 2-3, Green 1-3, Hogue 1-3, Sergent 0-1, Bond 0-1, Bray 0-2, Brewer 0-2), Morgan County 3-13 (Roy 1-3, Montgomery 1-3, Fyffe 1-6, Campbell 0-1, Curd 0-5). Rebounds: Harlan County 38 (Fields 12), Morgan County 21 (Fyffe 7). Turnovers: Harlan County 13, Morgan County 17. Fouled out: None.