‘He became a legend tonight.’ Harlan County’s Trent Noah scores 48 in stunning comeback.

With one of the greatest single-game performances in Kentucky boys’ state tournament history, Harlan County’s Trent Noah scored 48 points and led a thrilling rally from 16 points down in the second half to claim an 85-71 overtime victory over Campbell County in the UK HealthCare Boys’ Sweet 16 quarterfinals at Rupp Arena on Friday

Noah nailed a 3-pointer from well behind the arc with 45 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 69. Campbell County could not answer to prevent overtime.

“It was awesome. It was a crazy atmosphere that last defensive possession,” Noah said of Campbell County’s last possession. “The roof came off. … That’s just what you dream of whenever you’re growing up.”

The Camels also could not overcome the momentum the Black Bears had seized going into the extra period.

“I’ve been coming to the state tournament my whole life. I’ve watched Chris Lofton … Richie Farmer, Allan Houston, going all the way back there. He (Noah) became a legend tonight — a Sweet 16 legend,” Campbell County coach Brent Sowder said. “That’s something that’s going to stay. We’re going to talk about that. I hate being on the other side of it.”

Noah, a 6-foot-6 South Carolina signee, scored Harlan County’s last 15 points in the fourth quarter as the Black Bears chipped away at the lead. Harlan County (33-4) faced its largest deficit of 16 points with 2:18 left in the third quarter. The Bears trailed by eight points with 2:59 left in regulation.

“I’m super blessed that God allowed the ball to go in the hoop tonight,” Noah said after recording the fourth-most points scored in a Boys’ Sweet 16. “We’re super fortunate to come out of here with a win. My teammates, they get a lot of credit for that, too. I feel like my shots were going in, but they do everything and more to allow me to even put the ball up.”

When Noah wasn’t scoring, Maddox Huff helped keep the Black Bears in it with 22 points and seven assists. Reggie Cottrell added eight.

Campbell County controlled the game through three quarters, but Harlan County stepped up its defensive pressure and placed Noah on Camels point guard Garyn Jackson down the stretch.

“Their whole offense was letting (Jackson) get down in the paint and then kick out to those guys that made shots,” Harlan County coach Kyle Jones said. “We started pressuring them a little bit and maybe sped them up a little bit and I think they had some guys take shots that they normally don’t in those situations.”

In overtime, Harlan County’s Cottrell, a sophomore who’s been notable this tournament for his exceedingly long hair, nailed the 3-pointer that gave the Black Bears a 72-69 lead at the 3:06 mark.

“Maddox was screaming at me to shoot it, and I let it go,” said Cottrell, who has been nursing a wrist injury since the 13th Region finals.

It was Harlan County’s first lead since late in the first quarter. The Bears never trailed again.

Campbell County (27-7) broke George Rogers Clark’s string of four straight 10th Region championships to get to Rupp and stunned Newport, one of the tournament’s favorites, on Thursday night. Broc Sorgenfrei led the Camels with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, while Jackson and Nathan Smith added 16 and 12 points, respectively.

“It’s a team that not a lot of people ranked and not a lot of people were expecting much from them,” Sowder said. “I feel like they represented the community well and have something they can be proud of for the rest of their lives.”

Noah’s 48 points rank fourth in Boys’ Sweet 16 history behind Wayland’s Kelly Coleman, who scored 56 and 50 in 1956, and Clay County’s Richie Farmer, who scored 51 in 1988. They also helped Noah unofficially become boys’ basketball’s fifth all-time leading scorer with 3,661 points, trailing Lyon County’s Travis Perry (5,430), Wayland’s Coleman (4,337), Bracken County’s Blake Reed (3,746) and North Laurel’s Reed Sheppard (3,727).

Harlan County was to play next in the 1:30 p.m. semifinals on Saturday.

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