FAIRLAND -- Shelbyville has a different defensive presence with the addition of Mar Nicholson to the starting unit.
The six-foot, five-inch sophomore transfer from Franklin Central kept Triton Central’s Eli Sego away from the rim Saturday night, scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds on his own, and helped the Golden Bears to their first 2-0 start to a season since 2020 – also the last time Shelbyville defeated the Tigers.
Caden Claxton finished with 14 points for Shelbyville. Damon Badgley also reached double digits with 11 points and Nicholson sank a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds on the scoreboard clock to secure a 49-44 victory.
“Triton Central is a very good team and I knew they would come out and give us everything they have and we would have to play really well to beat them,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “It definitely feels good to get these two games under our belt over the Thanksgiving break and looking forward to the rest of our schedule.”
Shelbyville built a 14-9 lead after one quarter with Badgley (photo), Claxton and Luke Brinkman each hitting a 3-pointer.
Strong play off the bench from sophomores Brody Runnebohm and Cole Schene in the second quarter helped the lead grow to 28-18 at halftime.
“On the defensive end, we stress to our guys that if we’re going to win ballgames this year we have to get stops,” said Hartnett. “Know that on offense we have enough guys that can make plays and hit big shots, but defensively, we have to get stops like we ended up getting at the end of the game tonight.
“Cole Schene did an excellent job of bumping cutters and getting out on shooters and then recovering in the post and going straight up. … Brody will be a guy we will hang our hat on moving forward in years to come. He came in and hit a big 3 in the second quarter to get us jumpstarted.”
The knockout punch did not come in the third quarter as Triton Central started its comeback with Sego and fellow sophomore Max Crouse combining for 10 points.
The Golden Bears made it known ending a three-game losing streak to a county rival was a major goal this season. The Tigers were not going to just let it happen, though.
“I’m proud of our kids. They played hard. Shelbyville played hard. They just played smarter than we did,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James, who was honored before the start of the varsity game (photo) for getting career win No. 600 Wednesday at Morristown. “We didn’t play smart at the right time and turned it over a little too much. I think we will learn and grow from that.”
Shelbyville led 34-31 after three quarters and saw the game tied at 40-all after Silas Blair (main photo, rising for shot over Shelbyville's Cole Schene) scored in the low post with 3:12 to go. The Golden Bears went on a 9-4 run to close out the game – and the win.
Claxton hit a 3-pointer over a Schene screen. Taggy Goul added a pair of free throws at the other end to cut the lead to 43-42 but Claxton scored in the lane, Brinkman hit a free throw and Claxton did the same for a 47-42 advantage.
Meanwhile, Sego (photo), who finished with a game-high 18 points, was battling lower leg cramps over the final five minutes of the game.
Blair scored the final two points of his 10-point night but Nicholson sank two final free throws that set the final score.
Crouse finished with nine points in the loss for Triton Central (1-1), who hosts Waldron (0-1) Thursday.
Claxton also had five rebounds and four assists for Shelbyville (2-0), who travels to Connersville (1-1) for a Dec. 2 game at the Spartan Bowl.
Shelbyville improved to 2-0 with a 38-35 win in the junior varsity game. Gavin Reed scored a game-high 23 points for Shelbyville, who trailed 17-10 after the first quarter.
Brayden Hoover scored nine points for Triton Central.
Steve Bush photos
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