Nicholson's big night propels Shelbyville to 4-0 start for first time since 2005

NEW CASTLE – Only Mar Nicholson could stop Mar Nicholson.

The Shelbyville junior knew it. The Golden Bears knew it. And New Castle learned firsthand it had no answer for the six-foot-five forward.

Nicholson scored 19 first-half points, added nine more in the decisive third quarter and finished with a game-high 32 points to lead Shelbyville to a 70-61 victory Friday at New Castle in the Hoosier Heritage Conference opener for both programs.

Nicholson made 13-of-17 shot attempts and all six of his free-throws to dominate the Trojans. Foul trouble in the second half was the only thing limiting his effectiveness and he fouled out early in the final quarter.

Caden Claxton, Shelbyville’s leading scorer, quickly followed him to the bench with five fouls and the Golden Bears had to go with a younger lineup to finish off the Trojans.

Senior Damon Badgley hit 4-of-6 free throws in a 31-second stretch late in the quarter to help Shelbyville improve to 4-0 for the first time since the 2005-06 season when the Golden Bears went 23-1.

“We told the guys we knew how difficult it would be to play in this gym. We came out a little timid and showed some signs of being a little bit nervous, but at the end of the day we buckled down in the third quarter and extended the lead then finished the job.”

The Golden Bears led 28-25 at halftime then produced a strong third quarter to extend the lead to double digits. Shelbyville made 8 of 14 shots, grabbed 11 rebounds and did not commit a turnover to open a 48-35 lead.

“It’s never easy when two of your best scorers go down but it’s an opportunity for other guys to step up,” said Hartnett. “Badgley and (Gavin) Reed and (Cole) Schene stepped up tonight to finish the job.”

New Castle hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter and 10 free throws, but Shelbyville countered with made 3s by Badgley, Claxton and Reed in the quarter and hitting 9 of 12 free throws.

Nicholson’s 32-point performance was bolstered by eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

“We ran the same play over and over and over again. The play has two or three options and they took away Mar on one of the plays and Caden hit a big 3 at the top,” said Hartnett. “I thought it was impressive that we executed that play so many times in a row to extend the lead.”

Badgley finished with 12 points – seven in the final quarter.

“When they called that timeout and our guys were panicking a little bit, we told Damon that you have to step up right now. It’s your time to seal the deal, hit the free throws and get us out of here,” said Hartnett. “He missed a couple but he got tough and hit the ones we needed to hit.”

Claxton had nine points, six rebounds and four assists. Reed came off the bench to score eight points, grab two rebounds and dish out three assists. Schene finished with six points and four rebounds and Brody Runnebohm had five rebounds and three blocks.

Mason Miller came off the bench to score 19 points to lead New Castle (1-4, 0-1 HHC). Cade Logston hit three 3s on the way to 16 points.

Landon Thompson, who suffered a broken leg in last year’s game at Garrett Gymnasium, finished with eight points, five rebounds and three assists.

Shelbyville will attempt to improve to 5-0 Saturday night at Garrett Gymnasium against Whiteland (2-2). The Golden Bears have lost six straight to the Warriors, who have knocked them out of the sectional tournament in each of the last two seasons.

The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.