Class 3A, No. 7 Shelbyville advances to semifinal round of Wettig Tournament

RICHMOND – Despite a pair of less-than-complete performances, Class 3A, No. 7 Shelbyville finds itself as one of four teams still unbeaten at the 19^th Annual Bob Wettig Tournament in Richmond.

The Golden Bears held a 27-point lead late in the third quarter Monday morning against Indy Homeschool but had to hold off a late comeback attempt.

In game two Monday afternoon, Shelbyville built a 34-14 lead at halftime against Fort Wayne North but saw the Legends cut the lead to 11 early in the fourth quarter before the close out stretch resulted in a 54-39 victory.

Shelbyville will face Greensburg (4-4) Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. at Earlham College. A win puts Shelbyville (8-1) in the championship game. A loss drops the Golden Bears into the third-place contest.

The other four teams vying for those final two spots Monday night were NorthWood, Valparaiso, Fort Wayne Snider and Ben Davis.

“Same thing as game No. 1, we got out to a very good start, blitzed both teams but – we had a heart-to-heart conversation in the locker room about how we can’t let up and not have as much fire and energy in the second half,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett.

Two wins are still two wins, but the Golden Bears have greater expectations this season. Winning eight of their first nine games gets Shelbyville off to its best start in two decades.

“We can’t come out and blitz teams and score 19 or 20 points and then score (six points in a quarter),” said Hartnett. “As much as I’m up that we won two games today, there are a couple things I am frustrated with, especially in the second half of both games and one is taking care of the basketball.”

Caden Claxton (photo) scored 51 points in the two games and moved from 11^th on the program’s career scoring list to No. 7.

Against Fort Wayne North, the senior guard tallied 17 points in the first half and finished with 24 despite hitting just 1 of 6 three-point attempts.

Shelbyville took an 8-0 lead with three different Golden Bears scoring in the opening minutes. That lead grew to 19-9 after one quarter.

An 8-0 run to end the second quarter extended the lead to 20 points for the first time.

The Legends (1-5) put together an 8-0 run early in the third quarter while the Golden Bears’ offense floundered, hitting just 2 of 8 shots and scoring just six points over the eight-minute period.

Gavin Hall and Claxton combined to score five straight points early in the fourth quarter after Omarion Waites scored in the low post to get the Legends within 11 at 40-29.

Shelbyville did not make a 3 in the second half and made 6 of 12 free throws but it was enough to get the Golden Bears to day two with a 2-0 record.

Waites led Fort Wayne North with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Mar Nicholson (photo) finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists despite injuring his hip in the first half.

Brody Runnebohm had seven points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Greensburg arrived in Richmond riding a 4-game losing streak but defeated Phalen Academy, 55-44, and Indianapolis Washington, 82-69, to reach the semifinal round Tuesday.

“You are playing in a holiday tournament and if you take off any time on defense or offense there are teams that can come charging back like both teams did today,” said Hartnett. “We are working on playing a four-quarter game and not one to two quarters where we score 20 (points) and then get stuck in the third or fourth quarter and score six points.”

Shelbyville 79, Indy Homeschool 58

The Golden Bears hit six first-half 3s to build a comfortable lead at the halftime break. The lead grew to 60-33 with 2:35 to go in the third quarter which put Shelbyville in position to limit starter minutes in the fourth.

Indy Homeschool (6-3) had other plans than letting the Golden Bears cruise to an easy victory. The Wildcats shot 50% from the field over the final two quarters, hit four 3s and harassed Shelbyville into 11 second-half turnovers to get as close as 10 points at one point in the fourth quarter.

That forced Hartnett to insert the starting five to finish the game.

Shelbyville stayed strong as the free throw line from start to finish, hitting 19 of 24 overall to seal the win.

Claxton scored a season-high 27 points and had five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Nicholson finished with 18 points. Runnebohm (photo) had 13 points. Gavin Reed added eight points and six rebounds.

Aaron Gourley led Indy Homeschool with 19 points. Gideon Obuabunwa finished with 18 points and five rebounds.

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