Ben Davis towers over Shelbyville to win Bob Wettig Tournament championship

RICHMOND – Size does indeed matter on a basketball court.

Class 4A, No. 13 Ben Davis dominated in the low post and kept a pesky Shelbyville squad at bay Friday night to secure the championship of the Bob Wettig Tournament.

Tavion Williams and Kaleb Milan combined to score 29 points, 22 at the rim, to lead the Giants to a 51-43 victory at the Tiernan Center at Richmond High School.

Shelbyville finished runner-up in the 16-team holiday tournament and senior Damon Badgley (main photo) was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 14 points over four games while shooting 51% from the field and 52% from the three-point line.

The tournament draw put Shelbyville in a favorable position and it capitalized with wins Thursday over North Decatur (74-36) and Indianapolis Shortridge (63-54). Meanwhile, Ben Davis defeated Centerville (61-43) and previously unbeaten Class 3A, No. 6 NorthWood (52-40).

The Golden Bears returned to the Tiernan Center Friday morning for a semifinal round game against the host Red Devils and used a fast start to reach the championship game.

Ben Davis earned its spot with an impressive 55-41 victory over Class 2A, No. 2 Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.

Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett Jr. got the three wins he coveted to set up a marquee match for the Golden Bears. And he got just that with the two-time Class 4A state finalists, who captured the 2023 state championship before falling to Fishers last season.

In its first two wins, Ben Davis raced out to double-digit leads as its opponents needed time to adjust to the size and athleticism of head coach Don Carlisle’s roster.

Unfortunately, Shelbyville had the same issue. The Golden Bears committed eight first-quarter turnovers and took just six shots while Williams, a six-foot, seven-inch senior that was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored 10 points in the paint.

The Giants led 16-4 after one quarter then went “bigger” with 6-10 senior Kaleb Milan getting fed in the low post. He scored eight of his 13 points in the second quarter, but the Golden Bears outscored the Giants 14-12 to trail 28-18 at the break.

“We were going up against a bigger, stronger team and they intimidated us a little bit,” said Hartnett. “We came out and were a little flustered and had a lot of turnovers to start the game. It was almost like we were a little timid.

“I thought we settled in and battled back. … We are done with moral victories, though. If we hit our free throws and limit our turnovers, I think that is a different outcome.”

Carlisle kept going deeper into his bench and eventually rotated 14 players onto the court, while Hartnett went with seven. From there, the Golden Bears shots started coming up short and they made just 2-of-6 free throws in the third quarter.

“We had a lot of shots rattle in and out too. We had some guys with some tired legs but no excuses there,” said Hartnett. “If a couple shots fall and some free throws fall and we limit turnovers, that is something we have to learn and grow from.”

Consecutive 3s from Badgley and Brody Runnebohm (photo) opened the fourth-quarter scoring and Shelbyville got within six at 38-32, but that was as close as it would get.

Badgley scored seven points in the final quarter and finished with a game-high 17 in the loss. Gavin Reed had 11 points off the bench.

“Gavin did a good job coming in and settling things down for us,” said Hartnett. “He wasn’t afraid to handle the ball, hit his free throws and had a couple of nice buckets.

“Damon is a guy that goes off confidence and he shot the ball really well this tournament. He is one of our senior leaders and he knows he has to lead by example.”

Williams led Ben Davis (8-2) with 16 points and five rebounds.

Shelbyville 51, Richmond 36

The Golden Bears scored the first 14 points of the game early Friday afternoon and 25 of the first 29 to create separation from the Red Devils (5-7).

“I thought our defense early was excellent,” said Hartnett.

Mar Nicholson (photo) finished with a game-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Badgley had 12 points and Caden Claxton tallied nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“These guys know right now that what we have is special,” said Hartnett. “Even with the couple of losses we had, and they were ones we should have won, these guys know what we are building here and what we’ve built.

“It hasn’t been easy these last few years, but these guys have kept their eyes on the goal of this program. And we’re here now.”

Mason Carpenter, who scored his 1,000^th career point Thursday in earlier tournament action, led Richmond with 13 points.

Up next

Shelbyville (9-3) returns to action Tuesday at Franklin (4-5) then travels to Greensburg (4-5) Saturday.

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