With its leading scorer in foul trouble early, Shelbyville teetered on the brink of being left behind by a one-win Franklin Central squad.

On Tuesday at William L. Garrett Gymnasium, Shelbyville rallied from an early 10-point deficit, built a 7-point lead of its own then had to hold off a furious rally from the Flashes to secure a 60-57 victory.

The Golden Bears have won three games in a row for the first time in nearly a year to improve to 7-8 this season. Franklin Central fell to 1-11.

“This is fun. This is fun,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “It’s fun seeing our guys happy. It’s fun seeing them come together. The past three games, even four with the Greensburg game, they have been playing together and that’s the most important part that this group needs to get. They need to play and stick together regardless of what happens. They are a very tough team when they are together.”

Franklin Central was a dangerous team despite its ugly win-loss record accumulated by playing the toughest schedule in the state. And when Ollie Sandman (17.2 ppg) went to the Shelbyville bench with three fouls with 2:56 left in the first quarter, the Flashes found themselves opening up a lead.

With four made three-pointers in the opening quarter, Franklin Central led 18-15 at the first break. That advantage grew to 25-15 early in the second quarter and Sandman had to return to the floor.

“We were thinking on the scoring side,” said Harnett of returning Sandman to the floor with three fouls. “We switched to a zone to try and limit him picking up any sort of foul but we were thinking on the scoring end, trying to put some points on the board and hang around with this team.”

Damon Badgley, who hit the game-winning shot Saturday afternoon at Pendleton Heights, scored nine points in the first quarter to keep Shelbyville close. The sophomore hit a pair of free throws to end Franklin Central’s 7-0 run in the second quarter.

Aidan Asher followed with a corner 3 and Jackson Parker was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 28-22.

Badgley added a corner 3 of his own with 44 seconds left in the first half and Parker heaved a quick 3 after a mad scramble that went in as the horn sounded to give the Golden Bears’ momentum and just a two-point deficit at halftime.

The two teams traded the lead throughout the third quarter before Sandman connected on back-to-back 3s late to give the Golden Bears a 44-37 lead at the break.

The Flashes got hot again from behind the 3-point arc and scored eight straight points to take a 48-47 lead just past the mid-point of the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded baskets again before Badgley drove to the rim, scored and was fouled. He hit the free throw to give his team a 52-50 lead it would not relinquish.

Joshua Moriarty made his fifth 3 of the game to cut into Shelbyville’s lead then scored on a reverse layin with 13 seconds left to make it 58-57.

Asher was immediately fouled and calmly sank two free throws to set the final score.

“When Aidan Asher is confident, he is a big, big contributor to our team,” said Hartnett. “He knows as a senior this is his last go around. We are trying to see what all we can get out of him. We got a lot out of him in the summer and we were testing him earlier in the season. He is earning these minutes every single chance he can get. Tonight, he really showed he is a part of this ball team and he will be needed to get this done.”

Franklin Central missed two contested 3s in the final seconds.

The Flashes shot 47% from the field and hit 10 of 23 3s (43%). Moriarty finished with a team-high 19 points. Dhani Flannigan had 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Badgley led Shelbyville with 21 points. Sandman finished with 14. Luke Brinkman and Asher each had nine points.

Franklin Central won the junior varsity game 40-35. Brody Runnebohm led Shelbyville with 12 points.

The Golden Bears are at Greenfield-Central (11-1) Saturday night.

Shelbyville 60, Franklin Central 57

FC – Moriarty 7-12 0-0 19, Hoover 1-5 0-0 3, Flannigan 4-12 0-0 10, Crockett 1-5 0-2 2, Tiwana 2-4 1-1 5, Helm 4-6 0-0 8, Hazelett III 2-3 0-0 6, Nicholson 2-2 0-2 4. Totals: 23-49 1-5 57.

SH – Sandman 4-11 3-3 14, Badgley 5-12 8-8 21, Brinkman 3-3 1-2 9, Parker 1-2 2-2 5, Claxton 0-2 2-3 2, Lambert 0-2 0-2 0, Asher 3-4 2-2 9. Totals: 16-36 18-22 60.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

FC (1-11)  18  12    7  20  -- 57

SH (7-8)    15  13  16  16  --  60

Three-point field goals: FC 10-23 (Moriarty 5-9, Hoover 1-3, Flannigan 2-7, Crockett 0-2, Hazelett III 2-2), SH 10-20 (Sandman 3-6, Badgley 3-7, Brinkman 2-2, Parker 1-2, Claxton 0-1, Asher 1-2). Rebounds: FC 21 (Moriarty 2, Hoover 1, Flannigan 6, Crockett 1, Tiwana 4, Helm 4, Hazelett III 2, Nicholson 1), SH 19 (Sandman 2, Badgley 3, Brinkman 5, Parker 4, Claxton 2, Lambert 1, Asher 2). Assists: FC 16 (Moriarty 3, Hoover 7, Flannigan 2, Crockett 2, Helm 1, Nicholson 1), SH 9 (Badgley 1, Brinkman 2, Parker 4, Claxton 1, Lambert 1). Steals: FC 1 (Nicholson 1), SH 1 (Claxton 1). Blocks: GC 3 (Helm 1, Hazelett III 1, Nicholson 1), SH 2 (Sandman 1, Parker 1). Total fouls: FC 23, SH 13. Turnovers: FC 9, SH 13.

JV

Franklin Central 40, Shelbyville 35

FC – Naessens 11, DePalma 10, Moore 6, Back 6, Thompson 5, Smith 2.

SH – Runnebohm 12, Reed 8, West 8, Myers 6.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

FC  7  13  10  10  --  40

SH  3  10    9  13  --  35

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