Tae’Shawn Shelton slams home a thunderous dunk in the first quarter against Columbia on Thursday night. (Post Photo by Chris Siers)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
SHELBYVILLE — Columbia grabbed an early lead against Shelbyville on Senior Night, but the Eagles outscored the Lions in the second and third quarters and held on for a 67-63 thriller of a victory.
Out of the gates, both teams were just a little slow settling into the half-court, but the Golden Eagles kept the full-court defensive pressure in place and created several points in transition.
The Eagle defense was nothing short of a menace for the Lions trying to break the press and in transition, Tae’Shawn Shelton slammed home a pair of thunderous dunks in the first half to help ignite the Eagles’ offense.
After trailing 10-9 in the first, Jevon Lee caught fire in the second period and scored 10 of Shelbyville’s 20 second-quarter points.
By halftime, the Eagles led 29-23.
Having grabbed a two-possession lead at the half, Shelbvyille continued to keep its foot on the pedal and saw five players pencil their name in the scoring column in the third.
Shelton added five, while Malek Johnson and Lee each added four as the Eagles out-scored the Lions 17-15 in the quarter.
Things got interesting in the fourth as the Lions rallied for 25 points, with Isiah Humes posting an 11-point effort in the quarter.
But the Eagles were able to maintain the slim lead and worked their way to the line in the fourth to help secure the win.
In that final quarter, Shelbyville cashed in on 9-of-14 attempts.
In total, Lee matched a game-high with 20 points.
Shelton went on to finish with 16, while Johnson turned in a 14-point effort.
Hume was the top scorer for the Lions and finished with 20 as well.
Columbia 10 13 15 25 — 63
Shelbyville 9 20 17 21 — 67
Columbia: Isiah Humes 20, DK Armstrong 14, Jeremiah Vaughn 8, RJ White 7, Elijah Foster-Phillips 5, Kemarion Long 4, Kingston Booker 3, Brenden Secrest 2.
Shelbyville: Jevon Lee 20, Tae’Shawn Shelton 16, Malek Johnson 14, Jack Conditt 9, Idris Gray 3, Zack Minor 3, Braylon Johnson, Billy Brown Jr.
3-Point goals: Shelbyville (3): Johnson, Conditt, Minor; Columbia (4): Humes 3, Foster-Phillips.
Halftime score: Shelbyville 29, Columbia 23.
