Early 3-point barrage carries HCHS past Kuemper

 CARROLL -- Lopsided wins at Kuemper Catholic have been a rarity over the years, but Friday night was a fun exception to the rule for the Harlan Community boys basketball team.
 Drilling 7-of-8 three-pointers in a game-opening 23-4 outburst, the Cyclones led by as many as 25 points in the first half and 40 during the late stages of a 67-32 road win over the Knights.
 The matchup of Hawkeye Ten co-leaders did not count in the conference standings, but was perhaps an indicator of just how good this Cyclone team can be when hitting on all cylinders.
 HCHS, ranked fourth in Class 3-A, was somewhat average offensively following a 26-8 first quarter, but played a suffocating brand of man-to-man defense for 32 minutes and never let the 10th-ranked (2-A) Knights put together any semblance of a comeback. Kuemper, which also lost in Harlan 70-51 on January 11, did not score more than nine points in a quarter and shot just 24.5 percent from the field.
 The Cyclones improved to 13-2 overall while the Knights slipped to 11-5. Both squads are 8-1 in conference play, tied with Glenwood for first place.