A shovel is more suited for a gardener or farmer than a high school basketball team. It could, however, be symbolic for the Shelbyville Golden Bears. Much of the season the Bears have dug an early hole and spent the rest of the game trying to dig back out.
A much better early game performance kept the Golden Bears in the game into the second half until Franklin Central finally pulled away for a Wednesday night win, 83-63.
Four nights before, Shelbyville trailed Pendleton Heights 12-0 to start the game. Against the Flashes, Nolyn Smothers and Jakob Heaton combined for 17 first quarter points as the Bears put five players in the scoring column and held a lead at the end of eight minutes, 22-19.
The fast moving, full-court play continued into the second quarter but the Bears couldn’t sustain the scoring punch. Shelbyville’s leading scorer Ollie Sandman (22.5 ppg) scored all of the Golden Bears points in the period. But Franklin Central’s Dhani Flannigan, a transfer from Cathedral, sparked the Flashes with four three-point field goals in the first half (six for the game) for 14 points. Franklin Central took a lead in the second quarter it wouldn’t relinquish and led at the half, 38-33.
Shelbyville was outscored 22-12 in the third period. Sandman, who finished with a team-high 18 points, missed several minutes in the period with a fourth foul that put him on the bench until the start of the fourth quarter. Three of Sandman’s fouls were whistled on the offensive end.
Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett appeared on the GIANT fm Sports Cagney's Pizza King postgame.
Franklin Central (4-7) was led in scoring by Rynell Echols with a game-high 22 points. Flannigan poured in 20. Elijah Crockett and Bryan Marshall were also in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively.
Joining Sandman in double figures for the Golden Bears were Jakob Heaton, 15, and Nolyn Smothers with 13.
The Golden Bears and Flashes could meet again. Both will be in the field at the 4A sectional hosted by Greenwood.
Shelbyville (2-10) will host Greenfield-Central Saturday. GIANT fm Sports play-by-play coverage begins at approximately 7:00 pm.
