GLASGOW — Host Barren County extended its stay in the Boys’ Region 4 Tournament with a 68-59 win Friday over Russell County in the opening round.

Barren County (22-8) controlled the game from the middle of the second quarter forward, avenging a 79-70 loss to the Lakers last month and advancing to Monday’s semifinals against Bowling Green.

“We just wanted this win,” senior guard Barrett Billingsley said. “Everybody in the clubhouse, they were excited and ready to play. We came out with a fire under us. We came out focused. That was the main key.”

The lead changed hands five times in the first half before Barren County surged ahead right before the break.

Russell County (18-10) led 19-16 with 4:39 left in the second quarter but didn’t score again in the half. Barren County closed with an 11-0 run – seven points came from Ben Leftwich – to build a 27-19 halftime advantage.

Barren County continued to widen its lead in the third period.

Nick Mabe scored on the opening possession to give the Trojans a double-digit advantage, and a Charley McCoy 3 extended the margin to 44-29 midway through the quarter.

Russell County cut the deficit to 12 before Billingsley drained a jumper as time expired, making the score 50-36.

“We talked about the first two or three minutes of the third quarter were going to be important to push (the lead) out, as opposed to letting them get back in,” Barren County coach Warren Cunningham said. “That was really important. It gave us some separation, and I thought it changed the way they had to play us. I thought that was to our advantage.”

Leftwich gave Barren County its largest lead of the night, 54-38, with just over six minutes remaining, but the Lakers tried to mount a comeback.

Russell County went on an 11-2 run, trimming the deficit to 56-49 after two Kel Stotts free throws with 3:43 remaining, but Barren County scored five straight points to stretch the advantage back to 12.

The Lakers got as close as seven two more times, including Nick Coffey’s putback with 12.8 seconds left, before the Trojans iced the win with a layup by Wade Coomer.

The Trojans shot 50 percent from the field, with a trio of players finishing in double figures.

Leftwich led the way with 23 points. Billingsley had 14 points and seven assists, while McCoy added 11 points.

“Every game, it is a couple of different guys,” Cunningham said. “That’s what makes this team a good team. We have a lot of different guys that can make plays.”

Coffey had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Lakers, who shot 32.8 percent from the field.

Stotts added 16 points, while Alex Turner finished with 15 points.

“We’re not built to come from behind, especially when we are shooting the way we were tonight,” Russell County coach Willie Feldhaus said. “The disappointing part in that run they had was, you are going to miss shots, but we took some bad shots, and we paid the price for it.

“I can’t take anything away from our kids. We somehow fought back and still did not shoot the ball well. We actually got some open 3s. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Barren County will face the Purples, a 77-33 winner over Franklin-Simpson, at 6 p.m. Monday. BG beat the Trojans 84-71 on Dec. 27 at the T.J. Samson Holiday Classic in Metcalfe County.

“They are playing as well as anybody,” Cunningham said. “I thought they dominated the other night against Warren Central (in the District 14 championship). Obviously, they dominated the game tonight. It will be a completely different challenge than the way the game was tonight.”

RCHS 13 6 17 23 — 59

BCHS 14 13 23 18 — 68

RC — N. Coffey 17, Stotts 16, Turner 15, Bertram 5, B. Coffey 4, Ellis 2.

BC — Leftwich 23, Billingsley 14, McCoy 11, Hubbard 8, Z. Mabe 4, Coomer 4, N. Mabe 2, Matthews 2.

— Follow prep sports writer Micheal Compton on Twitter at twitter.com/mcompton428 or visit bgdailynews.com.