Eagles knock off No. 3 Columbia

Nathan Jefferies and Deonta Twilley go after a loose ball for the Eagles. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

COLUMBIA -- For the past several years Shelbyville Central has dominated District 8-AAA. After an upset loss to Tullahoma earlier in the season. some might have wondered if that dominance was a thing of the past.

If the Eagles' 58-53 win over third-ranked Columbia is any indication, don't shut the door on them yet.

Now Shelbyville (12-3, 3-1 8-AAA) and Columbia (11-2, 3-1 8-AAA) sit atop the district standings with one loss each, but the Eagles have the opportunity to control their own destiny with this head-to-head victory over the Lions.

After falling behind 7-0 to start the game, Shelbyville weathered the storm and eventually tied the game at 12-all when junior Emmanuel Andrews canned a 3-pointer with 1:19 left in the opening frame.

Columbia's Jarvis Webster countered with a trey of his on to give the Lions a 15-12 advantage after eight minutes of play.

The Eagles scored eight unanswered points to start the second half and go up 20-14, then held on to claim a 28-26 lead at intermission.

"We've played a number of good teams up to this point of the season and this is not the first time we've fell behind early," Shelbyville coach Kevin Thomas said. "I think the leadership of Deonta (Twilley) and Emmanuel (Andrews) is having a positive effect on this team as well.

"We knew coming in that this was going to be a game of runs and that we had to find a way to handle their pressure and I think our kids did a good job of that."

Columbia regained the lead early in the third quarter and went up 38-34 after a 3-pointer by Jonathan Cooper but the Eagles responded with a 8-point run of their own to go back up 42-38.

The Lions canned a pair of free throws and added a 3-point play by Marsalas Whitaker to retake the lead before Twilley closed out the third period with a basket giving the Eagles a 44-43 advantage.

Shelbyville's Bobby Wilson puts up a shot against Columbia. Wilson was an important presence on both offense and defense. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The game stayed with three points for most of the fourth quarter before Shelbyville took a 6-point advantage, 54-48, off a pair of clutch free throws by Bobby Wilson with 2:56 left to play then held on down the stretch to claim the road victory.

A encouraging thought for the Eagles was the inside dominance and physical play of sophomores Seth Jarrell, Wilson and Trevor Reed, who combined to grab 26 of Shelbyville's 35 rebounds. The sophomore trio also combined to score 25 points inside the paint.

Jarrell pitched in 15 points with 11 boards for his double-double while Wilson scored eight to go along with a dozen rebounds.

"I just can't say enough about our underclassmen post players," Thomas said. "They have really improved over Christmas. We've played teams that are bigger than them and that has given them more confidence. I thought we were the more physical team inside and I that made a big difference tonight."

Cooper and Morty Robinson led Columbia with 12 points apiece with Dominique Parks adding 11.

Andrews scored a game-high 18 points with Twilley joining in double figures with 12.

The Eagles host Coffee County in another district matchup Friday night.