Shelbyville showed off a deep and athletic roster in a season-opening 51-19 win Wednesday over Rushville at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.
Eleven different Golden Bears saw meaningful minutes in the first half and limited the undersized Lions to just 11 first-half field goal attempts.
Caden Claxton (photo) scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the first two quarters as Shelbyville built a 25-9 lead.
“Caden had a good game and shot it really well (10 of 15 from the field),” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “We knew coming into this season he would be our returning leading scorer and he knows what he has to do in each game. He works at it so it’s no surprise he shot it like that tonight.”
Up 27-12 early in the third quarter, Damon Badgley hit back-to-back three-pointers and Claxton added another 3 to quickly push the lead to 36-12 and the Golden Bears were never challenged.
Rushville, under new head coach Kerry Brown who returned to the program from Connersville in the offseason, never made consecutive baskets at Garrett Gymnasium and finished shooting just 27% from the field and 10% from the arc.
Eight different Golden Bears scored and the team shot 59% in the victory.
“I knew at the start of the year we would have a lot of firepower coming out with some really good shooters and ball handlers,” said Hartnett. “I thought one of our biggest strengths tonight was pushing the ball in transition. That is something we are stressing this year – pushing the ball with the pass and beating everybody up the floor and see if we can get quick shots and get easy shots before we get set up in our offense.”
Mar Nicholson (photo), the Franklin Central transfer, scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in his Shelbyville debut.
Shelbyville will face a tougher opponent Saturday, traveling to Triton Central (1-0). The Golden Bears have lost three straight to the Tigers.
“We are looking forward to it. I know our guys have a chip on their shoulders from the last couple years. They’ve been close games,” said Hartnett. “Triton Central is a good team. Eli Sego and (Max) Crouse and (Silas) Blair can play. It will not be easy going into their house.”
Shelbyville won the junior varsity game, 51-26.
Kenny Owens led Shelbyville with 13 points. Nick Fischer finished with 10 points.
Liam Gurley topped Rushville with eight points.
In a freshman game in the auxiliary gym at Shelbyville, the Golden Bears defeated North Decatur, 60-10.
Steve Bush photos.
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