Strong final push carries Greenwood to win over Shelbyville

Shelbyville spent the better part of three quarters regaining the lead at Greenwood Tuesday only to see the Woodmen score 10 of the final 13 points to seal a 63-61 win.

The loss was the first for the Golden Bears (5-1) this season. The two teams could meet again in the postseason at the Class 3A Shelbyville Sectional.

“Greenwood is a good team. They came out early and hit some big shots and shot the ball well from (the 3-point line),” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett Jr.

Caden Claxton made 8 of 12 shots Tuesday, including four three-pointers, to score a game-high 27 points. The junior guard also had five assists before fouling out with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Mar Nicholson was limited to 12 points and four rebounds after scoring 63 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in Shelbyville’s two wins last weekend.

“(Greenwood) did a good job shutting down the paint and the driving lanes. I think their intensity got us to hold a little bit at the beginning and kind of intimidated us,” said Hartnett. “They blew up all of our handoffs, and anytime we got in the paint they all collapsed. I didn’t think we did a good job of getting the ball out early to shooters.”

Gavin Reed hit four 3s in the fourth quarter to get Shelbyville the lead that it could not hold on to.

Reed’s third 3 made it 58-53 -- the Golden Bears’ largest lead of the game -- but Ethan King sparked an 8-0 run with a drive against Claxton and score with 3:19 to go.

Isaac O’Neal scored in the low post and Joey Ortman hit a pair of free throws then scored with 1:11 to go to give Greenwood a 61-58 lead.

Reed splashed another 3 with 59 seconds to go to tie the game and Greenwood was content to take the final shot.

King drove into the lane with about 12 seconds to go and pulled the defense to him then slipped a back door pass to O’Neal who scored the game winner.

Reed was able to get an off-balance 3 off before the final buzzer but it was not close.

“Gavin got hot in the fourth quarter and hit four 3s. He did an excellent job fighting … he is a competitor. That’s who he is,” said Hartnett.

Parker Doolin scored 10 of his team-high 18 points in the opening quarter to help Greenwood take a 12-10 lead.

Ortman finished with 14. Acen Swain came off the bench to score 12 points – all in the second quarter. O’Neal had 10 while King had three points, six rebounds and six assists.

Greenwood outscored Shelbyville 16-3 in the third quarter to roll to a 48-25 victory in the junior varsity game. Cooper Thoman and Nick Fischer each had six points for Shelbyville (2-4).

Shelbyville hosts Mt. Vernon (5-1, 1-0 Hoosier Heritage Conference) Friday at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

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