By GREG MENGELT

In its final Mid-Southern Conference game of the season, North Harrison clinched at least a share of the conference title with a dominating 61-32 road victory at Charlestown on Saturday.

The Cougars controlled the game from the start, grabbing an early 15-2 advantage. North Harrison (12-3, 7-1 MSC) led 33-8 at halftime then scored the first six points of the third quarter.

“It was a big win for us, because the win clinched at least a share of the Mid-Southern Conference championship,” North Harrison head coach Lou Lefevre said. “While Charlestown is in a rebuilding mode, they have played some strong teams very close, so I did not view this as simply an easy win for us.”

Ethan Oakley scored 12 first-half points in the win over 5-14 Charlestown. Point guard Kaleb Kellems ran the show and had seven assists and led North Harrison with eight rebounds. Logan McIntire had a game-high 20 points.

North Harrison controlled the game right from the start, opening a big first-quarter lead of 15-2 and extended the advantage to 33-8 by halftime. Oakley scored 12 first-half points for the Cougars. NH also scored the first 6 points of the 3rd quarter, which pretty much solidified the win. The victory completed the conference schedule for NH, finishing at 7-1. Over the past two seasons, North Harrison is 16-1 in conference play.

Kellems, a point guard, ran the show for the Cougars, dishing out 7 assists and also leading the team with 8 rebounds. McIntire finished with 20 points to lead all scorers in the game. North Harrison is now 12-3 on the season.

The conference championship is North Harrison’s second straight. The Cougars, who host Crawford County (2-15) on Friday, are 23-3 in conference play over the last three seasons.

Brownstown Central (14-3, 6-1) can join North Harrison as MSC co-champions with a win at Eastern (14-2, 3-2) next Friday.