Seymour is so good defensively that a double-digit deficit can feel insurmountable. Shelbyville tested that notion Tuesday night at William L. Garrett Gymnasium and can concur.

The Owls built a 12-2 lead after one quarter and used patient offensive sets and a physical defensive presence to never trail in a 42-32 victory that improved them to 17-4 this season.

Brady Harpe topped Seymour with 13 points. Jaylin Johnson finished with 10 points and Bret Perry had nine.

Seymour took just 26 shots, making 12 including four first-half three-pointers, and controlled the tempo of the game.

“That is a very tough Seymour team,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “Even when we were down 10 it felt like we were down 20. When we were down four, it felt like we were down eight to ten points. It’s just a tough hole to climb out of.

“I’m very proud of our guys for fighting back and we could have folded and gave up at halftime.”

Seymour opened the lead to 28-13 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter before Shelbyville finally found an offensive rhythm.

Kohen Myers scored and was fouled with 1:48 to go in the quarter. The senior converted the free throw and sparked a 13-2 run that lasted to the middle of the fourth quarter when the Golden Bears cut the lead to 30-26.

Johnson, who torched Shelbyville for 21 points in last season’s game, scored off an offensive rebound to end the run then dished to Harpe for an easy layin on the next possession to quickly extend the lead to 34-26.

From there, the Owls made 8-of-10 free throws to seal the program’s third-straight victory over Shelbyville.

Caden Claxton led the Golden Bears with 11 points and three assists. Mar Nicholson finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Myers had seven points.

Shelbyville made just 1-of-13 3-point attempts and had just one free-throw attempt in its lowest scoring output of the season.

“Offensively tonight, (Seymour) is a team that is going to come up and pressure you. Every single time you catch the ball they are going to be in your face,” said Hartnett. “They are a tough, defensive team and its hard to get in a groove offensively when there is a team like that that plays good, strong defense and how physical they are.

“When we catch the ball outside the arc, we are over-thinking it. We’re not just playing basketball. When we are on offense, they need to relax and run through what we are running, take care of the ball, pass the ball around and move it. Right now, it’s coming to a stall a few times in the game and it’s costing us late down the road.”

Shelbyville’s junior varsity improved to 14-6 with a 42-32 victory Tuesday. Brody Runnebohm scored all 13 of his points in the second half. Gavin Reed and Nick Fischer each had eight points.

Shelbyville (11-9, 1-5 Hoosier Heritage Conference) closes out its conference schedule tonight at Class 3A, No. 6 Delta (16-6, 2-4). The game was originally scheduled for Friday but inclement weather forced the postponement.

On Thursday, the Golden Bears celebrate Senior Night during the final game of the regular season. Batesville (16-5) comes to Garrett Gymnasium with the JV game tipping off at 6 p.m.

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed. Get the most recent Shelby County Post headlines delivered to your email by visiting shelbycountypost.com and click on the free daily email signup link at the top of the page.