WHITELAND -- Shelbyville fell behind by double digits early, nearly recovered but could not overcome a veteran Whiteland squad Saturday night at Glenn Ray Gymnasium.
A 12-0 run midway through the first quarter helped the Warriors separate to a 17-6 lead. The Golden Bears hit long buzzer beaters just before halftime and the end of the third quarter and had possession early in the fourth quarter trailing 43-40 but failed to get back even.
Whiteland scored 10 of the next 13 points and converted 10 straight free throws in the game’s final 98 seconds to seal a 65-53 victory and its fifth-straight win over the Golden Bears, who suffered their first loss of the season to drop to 3-1.
“I am really proud of my guys fighting back tonight,” said Shelbyville head coach John Harnett. “We got an early hole and we had to switch to a zone (defense) because they overpowered us. Their guards are just big and strong and hurt us early down low and getting to the basket.
“I felt like that zone didn’t look too bad tonight it just got overpowered in some areas and we made some mistakes and that was the result for the night.”
Gavin Stubbe scored a game-high 20 points and had seven rebounds for Whiteland (3-2). Jazz Banwait scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Wiatt McLaughlin finished with 14 points.
The Warriors shot 46% from the field and an impressive 83% from the free-throw line, sinking 19 of 23.
Caden Claxton (photo, with ball being defended by Whiteland's Jazz Banwait) led Shelbyville with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Mar Nicholson finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
“Mar is really starting to settle in,” said Hartnett of the sophomore. “He is starting to know his place in this offense. In zones, he can really eat it up. If he gets the ball inside, the moves he can make inside, he can rise up and shoot that mid-range jumper. He is getting more comfortable in our offense and putting more points on the board for us.”
Luke Brinkman and Damon Badgley combined for five made 3s and 17 points.
The Golden Bears trailed 19-12 after one quarter and scored the final five points of the second quarter, including a half-court 3-pointer by Claxton to keep the deficit at seven at halftime, 33-26.
Whiteland led 41-31 with 3:39 to go in the third quarter when Shelbyville went on a run, scoring seven of the final nine points of the quarter. It ended with Brinkman hitting a 30-footer at the final buzzer to cut the lead to 43-38.
Claxton sank a 15 footer to open the fourth-quarter scoring and get Shelbyville within three points at 43-40.
Whiteland’s experience showed the rest of the way, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the field, 11 of 12 free-throw attempts and committing just one turnover.
Whiteland dominated the junior varsity game, pulling away for a 55-30 victory. The loss was the first for the Golden Bears this season.
Kyle Edwards led Whiteland with 18 points. Sukhjap Shergill had 14 points.
Gavin Reed led Shelbyville (4-1) with 10 points.
The Golden Bears have a busy week ahead. On Tuesday, they host Greenwood (0-5). GIANT fm will broadcast the game with the pre-game show starting at approximately 7 p.m. from Garrett Gymnasium.
Back-to-back Hoosier Heritage Conference games follow on Friday and Saturday at Mt. Vernon (2-2, 1-0 HHC) and Yorktown (1-3, 0-1 HHC), respectively.
Steve Bush photos
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