VICKI BLAKLEY|Daily Enterprise Harlan's Manny Davis looked to deliver a pass between a pair of Red Bird defenders during a 78-38 victory over the Cardinals on Monday. Davis had 10 points in the win.

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JOHN MIDDLETON

Sports Editor

Scoring sensation Erik Young wasn’t enough to help Red Bird overcome a balanced Harlan effort on Monday. Every Dragon on the roster scored as Harlan cruised to a 78-38 victory over visiting Cardinals.

“They have a couple of pretty good players. We played alright. We just have to take this and build from it,” said Harlan coach David Parks.

Young opened with the game’s first four points to put the Cardinals up early, but it was all Harlan from that point. The Green Dragons closed the first quarter on an 18-1 run to go up by 13 points. Dylan McNiel had seven points to lead six Harlan scorers in the opening period. McNiel finished with 17 points to pace the Dragons.

“He has been a real good shooter. When you leave him open he can stick it in the hole. He got the opportunity, and he did that tonight,” Parks said. “Hopefully, that will continue until the season is over.”

Harlan put the game out of reach with another dominant quarter in the second. Seven Dragons reached the scoring column, led by five points from Manny Davis, as Harlan pushed its lead to 37-10 at the half.

A buzzer-beating jumper from David Allen pushed the lead to 32 points in the third quarter. McNiel had seven more points in the period to put Harlan up 61-29.

Harlan outscored the Cardinals 17-9 in the final period. Young had all nine of Red Bird’s points in the fourth to finish with 26.

The Dragons turned in a stellar performance on the defensive end, forcing Red Bird into 16 turnovers. Harlan also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Cardinals 42-19.

“We rebounded the ball pretty good and shot it better than we had been,” Parks said. “All in all, we played pretty good tonight.”

Harlan (8-15) will travel to Pineville today, while Red Bird (5-11) will host Kentucky School for the Deaf on Thursday.

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Harlan (78) — Caleb Hogue 3, Dylan McNiel 16, Aaron Simpson 2, Isaiah Johnson 10, Manny Davis 10, Drew Parks 4, Nathan Young 10, David Allen 8, Dakota Morris 3, Leighton Piper 8, Andrew Varney 2, Tanner Morris 2.

Red Bird (38) — Erik Young 26, Thomas Wilder 0, Brett Collett 4, Jamie Wilder 6, Coty Smith 0, Korrey Morgan 0, Sheldon Roberts 2, Thomas Wilder 0.