Shelbyville basketball finishes June schedule with strong performance at Super Hoops Camp

The Shelbyville boys basketball varsity squad claimed a division championship last weekend at the three-day Super Hoops Camp that was held at Indiana Wesleyan University.

The Golden Bears won the varsity “B” level tournament with a win over Delta in the title contest.

Caden Claxton led Shelbyville scoring in the final with 20 points. Brody Runnebohm recorded 16 and Gavin Reed contributed eight.

“Our seniors really delivered for us throughout the weekend,” said Golden Bears head coach John Hartnett Jr. “Claxton, Runnebohm and Reed provided impressive scoring firepower and (Cole) Schene was a force controlling the rebounding, particularly in the tournament round.”

Shelbyville dropped its first two games in pool play in overtimes to Northridge and Fort Wayne Carroll, with the Golden Bears playing without the services of Claxton and last year’s leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Mar Nicholson. Both were participating in the Top 100 workout, which is an annual showcase for the state’s highest rated incoming basketball seniors.

Nicholson ultimately missed the entire Super Hoops competition with family vacation commitments that followed his Top 100 appearance.

The Golden Bears then posted consecutive victories over Hamilton Heights, Delta, Valparaiso and Mississinewa before losing to Dublin (Ohio) and finishing the pool play round with a record of 4-3.

Shelbyville defeated Valparaiso and avenged the earlier loss to Northridge prior to beating Delta in tournament play. The Golden Bears finished 7-3 for the Super Hoops weekend.

“The event also gave us an opportunity to see some of our younger, less-experienced players compete at the varsity level,” said Hartnett. “We are very pleased with the development of freshman Camden Thoman and his brother, Cooper, a junior. They are superior athletes who are learning what the intensity is like on the varsity level. Seniors Nick Fischer and Gavin Hall gave us solid minutes at the big man positions and junior varsity guards Jasper Hahn, Cayde Farmer and Eli Davis saw some varsity time as well.”

The Golden Bear junior varsity also advanced to the tournament championship game where it lost to Columbia City. The JV Golden Bears finished the Super Hoops competition with a record of 5-5.

Shelbyville finished summer team varsity competition with a cumulative 17-9 mark.

“I am very happy with the effort and progress,” said Hartnett. “June is an exhausting month for us with practices, additional skills workouts and weight training, but the hard work is a necessity, and it is fun and satisfying.”

The Golden Bears participated in the PAC League, the Whiteland Shootout, the Charlie Hughes Event and Super Hoops this summer. They faced some of the area’s better teams and recorded wins over perennial powers Indianapolis North Central, Franklin Central, Guerin Catholic and Valparaiso.

Super Hoops hosted 129 teams at the freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels this year with 56 varsity teams competing in seven divisions.