NEW CASTLE – Containing New Castle senior Gavin Welch was a high priority for Shelbyville Friday in its Hoosier Heritage Conference opener.
Welch, a six-foot, six-inch athletic wing, opted to be a bigger difference maker on defense. The Division II Barry University (Fla.) recruit shadowed Shelbyville’s Ollie Sandman the entire game, which slowed down the Golden Bears’ offense.
Sandman (photo), who averages 19.5 points per game, was limited to 13 points on 10 shot attempts in Shelbyville’s 50-38 loss.
“Gavin did a great job on Ollie,” said Shelbyville coach John Hartnett. “Ollie is a heck of a player to guard. I thought they did a good job of containing Ollie a little bit. I wish our offense would have had a little bit more movement on all the things we worked on this week. It was almost like we were a little too timid tonight attacking the basket.”
Welch and fellow New Castle senior Ethan Hinton entered the game averaging 20 ppg apiece. The dynamic duo finished with just 16 points total as Colin Taylor picked up the scoring pace.
The junior guard scored a game-high 19 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter when the Trojans (3-2, 1-0 HHC) turned a two-point lead into a 12-point victory.
“We did what we needed to do in the first half,” said Hartnett. “Our first-half defense was really good. I told the guys at halftime you have to lock in and go finish this thing. In that fourth quarter, we let Taylor get away and they took off and ran with it in the end.”
A 5-0 run midway through the third quarter gave the Golden Bears (2-2, 0-1 HHC) a 22-19 lead. Jackson Parker and Damon Badgley hit three free throws and Sandman splashed a fall away 17 footer.
And with 3:11 left in the quarter, Sandman drove the lane and scored to give Shelbyville a 24-21 lead.
New Castle scored the final five points of the quarter to take a 26-24 lead into the fourth quarter and Taylor took over from there. He scored 11 of the Trojans’ first 13 points of the quarter to create a 39-30 advantage.
From there, New Castle hit 11 of 12 free throws to seal the victory.
Tyson Lewis finished with five points and 10 rebounds. Welch had 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Hinton had six points and five rebounds.
Sandman led Shelbyville with 13 points and four rebounds. Badgley finished with nine points. Ethan Lambert (photo) had six points and six rebounds.
Steve Bush photos.
New Castle 50, Shelbyville 38
SH – Sandman 5-10 0-0 13, Brinkman 1-7 0-0 2, Parker 1-6 1-2 3, Claxton 2-5 0-0 5, Lambert 3-6 0-0 6, Badgley 3-6 3-5 9, Asher 0-1 0-0 0, Myers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-41 4-7 38.
NC – Lewis 1-5 2-2 5, Hinton 2-6 1-2 5, Taylor 7-9 4-4 19, Welch 3-12 3-4 10, Johnson 0-3 0-0 0, Butler 2-5 5-6 10, Boatright 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 15-42 15-18 50.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
SH (2-2) 6 11 7 14 -- 38
NC (3-2) 6 11 9 24 -- 50
Three-point field goals: SH 4-18 (Sandman 3-7, Brinkman 0-4, Parker 0-2, Claxton 1-2, Badgley 0-2, Asher 0-1), NC 5-23 (Lewis 0-4, Hinton 1-4, Taylor 1-3, Welch 1-6, Johnson 0-3, Butler 1-3). Rebounds: SH 22 (Sandman 4, Brinkman 3, Parker 3, Claxton 3, Lambert 6, Badgley 2, Asher 1), NC 26 (Lewis 10, Hinton 5, Taylor 4, Welch 4, Johnson 1, Butler 1, Thompson 1). Assists: SH 4 (Sandman 1, Parker 2, Badgley 1), NC 3 (Hinton 1, Taylor 1, Welch 1). Steals: NC 4 (Lewis 1, Taylor 1, Welch 2). Blocks: SH 1 (Parker 1), NC 2 (Hinton 1, Welch 1). Total fouls: SH 17, NC 11. Fouled out: Parker (SH). Turnovers: SH 13, NC 6.
Get the most recent Shelby County Post headlines delivered to your email. Go to shelbycountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.
