Shelbyville grinds down Triton Central in 52-39 victory

FAIRLAND – Shelbyville was not surprised at the pace of the game Saturday night at Triton Central. In a run-and-gun game, the Golden Bears had superior offensive weaponry.

However, in a slow it down, possession-to-possession battle, Eli Sego could keep the Tigers in contention.

In the end, Sego did not have enough firepower to overcome Shelbyville, ranked No. 17 in the Class 3A preseason poll, in a 52-39 loss.

“Obviously we didn’t get up as many shots as we normally do in a game, but it doesn’t matter how you get it done,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett.

The mission was accomplished in the opening quarter. The Golden Bears took just six shots and finished with just 10 points – but had the lead.

An 8-0 run to end the second quarter pushed the lead to double digits at halftime and forced Triton Central to increase its offensive efficiency. That meant Sego needed to do more.

The senior scored eight of his team’s 13 points in the third quarter but it was not enough to keep the Golden Bears from slipping away.

Shelbyville's Gavin Reed looks for an outlet pass while being guarded by Triton Central's Nate Long Saturday night at Triton Central.

Shelbyville struggled to finish games last season. A renewed emphasis on having the ability to run the clock without a turnover or take a poor shot attempt was displayed from a veteran team that starts five seniors.

The Tigers never got the lead below double digits over the final eight minutes. And Brody Runnebohm and Gavin Reed sank 9 of 11 free throw attempts to seal Shelbyville’s third consecutive win over its future Hoosier Legends Conference rival.

“We are learning from our past mistakes, like Mt. Vernon and a couple of those games last year where we could have put it away,” said Hartnett. “We ran control. When you are in control, you try to run some clock. That was our goal in the fourth quarter, run 30 seconds to one minute off each possession.

“When you are in control up 10 to 15 minutes, the only thing they can do is come down and take quick shots and put you at the free throw line. Our guys executed that tonight.”

Sego (photo) finished with 21 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. He is 24 points away from moving into third place on the Triton Central career scoring list.

“He is a heck of a player. We were very fortunate to hold him to two points in the first half,” said Hartnett. “In the second half, he knew what he had to do there to rally his team back in the game. He is a tremendous young man … one of the best players in the county and in the state. He will do great things at the next level.”

No other Tiger scored more than five points and the team was 2 of 12 from the arc.

Triton Central's Eli Sego (23) looks to pass the ball while being guarded by Shelbyville's Mar Nicholson during the first half Saturday night in Fairland.

Runnebohm led Shelbyville with 13 points.

Mar Nicholson finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and one block. Caden Claxton had 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

In the junior varsity game, Shelbyville jumped out to a 19-9 lead after one quarter and led 43-27 after three quarters before Triton Central caught fire.

The Tigers outscored the Golden Bears 20-4 in the final quarter to send the game to overtime.

Shelbyville recovered for the win, 56-52.

Cooper Thoman, Jasper Hahn and Eli Davis each scored 10 points for Shelbyville (2-0).

Dylan Showalter led Triton Central (1-1) with 12 points.

Triton Central hosts Waldron (1-0) Friday in a girls/boys varsity-only doubleheader. Southwestern (0-2) is at Triton Central Saturday.

Shelbyville (2-0) is at Connersville (1-0) Saturday.

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