Shelbyville needed a shot of adrenaline after surrendering an early 8-point lead.
Ollie Sandman provided just that, hitting three straight 3s over East Central’s 2-3 zone that put the Golden Bears ahead for good.
Sandman finished with a game-high 19 points (5-of-11 3s) and Caden Claxton nearly recorded his first double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Shelbyville to a 47-38 victory Thursday afternoon at Garrett Gymnasium over winless East Central.
“We did some of the things we needed to do coming out in the second half but they extended their zone a little bit and we were hesitant to move the ball around and attack gaps,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “We went over zone offense at halftime because, quite honestly, we weren’t ready for them to zone us because they didn’t do too much of that the last few games.
“We need guys to continue to move around and not chuck 3s all night. Granted, we hit a few of them but we can’t chuck 3s without driving and attacking.”
Shelbyville shot 38% from the field and hit 9 of 27 from beyond the arc.
The Trojans fell to 0-6 for the first time since starting 0-7 in 1996.
Still, East Central wiped out Shelbyville’s 15-7 second-quarter lead with a 9-0 run sparked by six points off the bench from Peyton Hofer.
A Hofer layin gave the Trojans a 16-15 lead before Sandman hit his first 3.
Hofer slashed through the lane and scored and was fouled on East Central’s next possession. He hit the free throw for a 19-18 lead – his team’s last of the game.
Sandman (photo) hit two more 3s that set the halftime score at 24-21.
The Trojans scored just three points in the third quarter but Shelbyville could not pull away.
“We have to get better at closing games out and finishing them out,” said Hartnett. “There is no reason we shouldn’t have run away with it as the game went on.”
A 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter cut Shelbyville’s lead to 35-34 before Damon Badgley (photo) found room in the lane and scored to push the lead back to three points.
Rhys Hofer connected on a pair of free throws with 2:38 left to again cut the lead to one but Sandman hit a long 3-pointer from the wing and the senior and Claxton hit 7 of 8 free throws in the final 78 seconds to seal the victory.
Shelbyville came into the week on a five-game losing streak but set up a much more pleasant holiday break going 2-0 on the week and improving to 4-6 with a favorable schedule ahead. The next five teams the Golden Bears face have a combined nine wins.
Brody Runnebohm scored 20 points and Kohen Myers added 14 points in Shelbyville’s 50-33 win in the junior varsity game.
The Golden Bears are back in action Wednesday at potential sectional foe and the defending sectional champion Franklin (3-5).
Steve Bush photos
Shelbyville 47, East Central 38
EC – Richter 1-5 0-0 3, Pieczonka 2-13 3-4 7, Maxwell 1-5 0-0 2, Wheat 5-8 3-3 13, Kuhn 0-1 1-2 1, P. Hofer 3-7 1-1 8, R. Hofer 0-2 2-2 2, Mersmann 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 13-42 10-13 38.
SH – Sandman 5-12 4-4 19, Brinkman 0-3 0-0 0, Parker 2-5 0-1 4, Claxton 2-8 4-6 10, Lambert 3-4 0-2 6, Badgley 3-7 0-0 8, Asher 0-0 0-0 0, Myers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-39 8-13 47.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
EC (0-6) 7 14 3 14 -- 38
SH (4-6) 14 10 8 15 -- 47
Three-point field goals: EC 2-14 (Richter 1-3, Pieczonka 0-4, Maxwell 0-1, Kuhn 0-1, P. Hofer 1-3, R. Hofer 0-2), SH 9-27 (Sandman 5-11, Brinkman 0-2, Parker 0-2, Claxton 2-6, Badgley 2-6). Rebounds: EC 18 (Pieczonka 3, Maxwell 5, Wheat 5, Kuhn 2, P. Hofer 3), SH 25 (Sandman 3, Brinkman 2, Parker 6, Claxton 9, Lambert 4, Badgley 1). Assists: EC 8 (Richter 1, Pieczonka 1, Maxwell 4, Kuhn 1, P. Hofer 1), SH 10 (Sandman 3, Brinkman 2, Parker 2, Lambert 2, Badgley 1). Steals: EC 3 (Richter 1, Wheat 1, P. Hofer 1), SH 2 (Claxton 1, Lambert 1). Blocks: EC 1 (Wheat 1), SH 6 (Sandman 1, Brinkman 1, Parker 2, Claxton 1, Lambert 1). Total fouls: EC 13, SH 13. Fouled out: Maxwell (EC). Turnovers: EC 7, SH 7.
JV
Shelbyville 50, East Central 33
EC – Sehlhorst 10, Schnell 9, Moses 6, Maple 4, Midlam 2, Sebastian 2.
SH – Runnebohm 20, Myers 14, Schene 8, West 4, Isaacs 2, Dunagan 2.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
EC 12 9 4 8 -- 33
SH 6 14 13 17 -- 50
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.
