Second-quarter burst carries HCHS past Blair in opener

 HARLAN (Dec. 5) -- The Harlan Community boys basketball team may lack size this year, but if Thursday’s season opener was any indication the run-and-gun Cyclones won’t be short on offensive explosiveness.
 Trailing Blair 20-15 early in the second quarter, the Cyclones finished the half with an impressive 28-4 run and cruised past the Bears for a 73-46 victory.
 The trajectory and feel of the game changed instantly when HCHS switched from playing man-to-man defense to a 1-2-1-1 press and 2-3 zone in the second quarter. The tempo quickly sped up, the Cyclones flourished and the Bears struggled to keep up as their early lead turned into a double-digit deficit in mere moments.
 Harlan, starting no player taller than 6-foot-2, took a 43-24 advantage to the locker room and continued to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring Blair 22-12. The lead reached 30 points early in the fourth.
 “We’re pretty excited, but that was a young team we played,” said HCHS coach Mitch Osborn. “We know we’ve got some tough games coming up but it was a good way to start the season.”
 Senior point guard Connor Bruck scored 19 points to go along with five assists and three steals for the Cyclones, who shot 50 percent from the field (9-of-22 from three-point land) and won the rebounding battle 32-16.
 Sophomore Connor Frame also scored 19 points in a terrific varsity debut while seniors Johnathan Monson (9 rebounds) and Michael Heithoff (6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals) added 15 and 13 points, respectively.
 The Cyclones’ four double-digit scorers combined to make 23-of-34 shots overall and 9-of-14 treys. Osborn was very pleased with the scoring balance.
 The Bears traded baskets with HCHS for much of the first quarter as 6’4” wide body Wyatt Ogle showed off some nice moves inside and scored eight points. Ogle finished with a team-high 17 and Sawyer Lawton had 12.
 Frame, Monson and Bruck all hit a three during the 28-4 surge and Bruck scored a pair of conventional three-point plays as well on a putback and a fast break and had 13 points in the quarter.