STAFF REPORT
SHELBYVILLE — Hoping to notch their second-straight District 9-4A win on Monday night, the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (5-18, 1-6) came up just short, falling to Columbia, 57-52.
It was slow sledding out of the gate for the Eagles, with Jack Conditt and Jevon Lee knocking down the only two baskets for Shelbyville in the first frame.
DK Armstrong and Demarion Polk combined for nine points to lead the Wildcats (13-8, 6-2) to a 13-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Eventually, the Eagles offense came to life in the second quarter and six players scored in the frame to trim the Columbia lead to one point by halftime.
Columbia responded with a 20-point effort in the third quarter to make it a two-possession lead by the end of the third.
The Wildcats got a couple of timely 3-pointers and six points from Kenneth Jackson in the third.
While Columbia charged ahead, the Eagles had another balanced scoring effort in the third, with senior Kyler Trice scoring six points.
Conditt added another four points as well.
Needing a big boost to once again cut the Columbia lead down, it was Shamarion Draper who came through with six in the fourth quarter.
Even with Draper’s push, Columbia matched Shelbyville’s 13 points to hold on for the key district win on Monday.
Terrence Johnson led the Eagles with 11 points, while Draper chipped in 10.
Shelbyville also was effective in getting to the line, shooting an efficient 12-of-15 attempts.
The Eagles will be back on their home court on Tuesday, hosting Spring Hill in the regular season home finale.
During their previous meeting, Spring Hill edged out Shelbyville for a 46-43 win.
Columbia 13 11 20 13 — 57
Shelbyville 7 16 16 13 — 52
Columbia: Demarion Polk 18, Jordan Davis 15, Kenneth Jackson 11, DK Armstrong 8, Malachi Horton 3, Akai Hunt 2.
Shelbyville: Terrence Johnson 11, Shamarion Draper 10, Kyler Trice 9, Jack Conditt 8, Tae’Shawn Shelton 6, Mookie Johnson 4, Rocky Chandler 2, Jevon Lee 2.
3-Point goals: Shelbyville (2): Draper, Johnson; Columbia (3): Polk, Davis, Horton.
Halftime score: Columbia 24, Shelbyville 23.
