Class 3A, No. 7 Golden Bears overpower Sparkplugs for 13th win

SPEEDWAY – A 14-1 run to close out the first half Friday left Class 3A, No. 7 Shelbyville trailing its future Hoosier Legends Conference rival Speedway at halftime.

The Golden Bears had hit just one three-pointer and only took four free throws to fall behind, 20-18.

Shelbyville went back to power mode for the third quarter.

The Golden Bears shot 67% from the field, scoring 16 of its 23 points at the rim and took a 41-30 lead it never relinquished on the way to a 55-38 victory.

“We had a lackadaisical second quarter,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “Obviously we didn’t get off to the best offensive start as we normally do. We didn’t hit very many 3s. And not having Brody Runnebohm on the floor as an extra weapon hurt us.”

Runnebohm (11 ppg) did not travel with the team Friday due to illness. His replacement in the starting lineup, freshman Camden Thoman, picked up two early fouls and took a hard landing on the floor that kept him out of the game the entire second quarter.

Still, Shelbyville led 12-6 after one quarter and five straight points from Mar Nicholson to start the second extended the lead to 17-6.

A pair of free throws from Drew Matelic and an offensive rebound and score by Kyle Merlie sparked a 14-1 run.

Matelic hit a 3 with 2:44 to go in the half and A.J. Lund hit a corner 3 with 80 seconds left that tied the game at 18-all.

To make it worse, an unblocked Keller Socks grabbed an offensive rebound and scored just ahead of the horn to give the Sparkplugs (7-7) their first lead since 2-0.

“That 14-1 run they went on in the second quarter hurt us and a missed box out and tip-in to go down two at halftime wasn’t ideal,” said Hartnett.

Struggling from beyond the arc, Shelbyville turned to Cole Schene and Nicholson in the low post to jump start the second half.

Schene converted less than 15 seconds into the third quarter to tie the game and Speedway never led again. Nicholson followed with a 3-point play off a baseline drive then scored again on the low block for a 25-20 lead.

Caden Claxton followed with a drive to the rim and score for a quick 7-0 burst to start the half.

Gavin Reed, who missed his first four 3-point attempts in the opening half, made two consecutive and scored eight points in the quarter.

Shelbyville used a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Claxton scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter. The senior guard also had a game-high 11 rebounds.

Of Shelbyville’s 37 second-half points, 28 came at the rim.

“We knew we had the size advantage and strength in the post,” said Hartnett. “We have to play inside out and create room for our shooters. We have two tremendous guys (Schene and Nicholson) in the post that can score and can pass it. That is one of our strengths and we went back to it in the second half.”

Matelic finished with a team-high 22 points. No other Sparkplug scored more than five. Speedway shot just 30% in the game and finished 2 of 11 from beyond the arc.

Shelbyville shot 50% from the field and outrebounded the Sparkplugs 30-15.

Nicholson had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Reed finished with eight points and five rebounds. Schene had six points and seven rebounds.

Shelbyville’s junior varsity improved to 7-6 this season with a 45-37 win at Speedway. Braydon Kirby and Eli Davis each scored nine points to lead the Golden Bears.

Shelbyville (13-4) is at Jennings County (8-6) tonight. The Golden Bears and Panthers have not played since Dec. 13, 2013.

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