Coach: Lack of effort hurt Eagles in loss

Shelbyville junior Trevor Reed soars to the basket past Franklin County defender Davonte Robinson. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

WINCHESTER -- In what many will consider a huge upset, Shelbyville Central fell 69-54 to a very determined Franklin County team on the road in its first District 8-AAA matchup this season.

The Rebels (3-4, 1-1 8-AAA) dominated on both ends of the court for the most part with the Eagles (4-1, 0-1) playing in catch-up mode most of the game.

It's been said that you can measure a team's success by its heart. Shelbyville coach Kevin Thomas said he was very disappointed with his team's effort.

"We didn't play with any heart tonight and that all comes back from work ethic," Thomas said. "We've got some kids that don't want to put the extra time in to become better shooters and right now we're relying on Emmanuel (Andrews) to hit jump shots and if he doesn't hit them we don't have no other way to score."

As frustrated as Thomas was with the offense, he was even more disappointed with the Eagles' defense.

"I've been here 11 years and this was the worst defensive effort we've ever had since I've been coaching at Shelbyville. To give up that many layups and uncontested shots is just a very poor performance by us defensively."

Franklin County (3-4, 1-1 8-AAA) took control early and led 18-7 at the 1:12 mark of the opening period before Andrews scored six unanswered points to close out the period.

Shelbyville (4-1, 0-1) started the second quarter with a 9-2 run to go up 22-20 but trailed 30-29 at halftime.

Eagle senior Nathan Jefferies scores over Franklin County's Shaquille Burnette. (T-G Photo by Gary Johnson) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Junior Seth Jarrell scored inside the paint to put the Eagles up 34-32 at the 6:15 mark of the third stanza, but that advantage was short-lived as Franklin County went on a 21-4 run from that point to lead 53-38 going into the fourth quarter.

The Eagles did get within 10 points three times in the fourth quarter but costly turnovers and bad shots down the stretch hampered any hopes of a comeback.

The Rebels cashed in on 10-of-12 free throws in the final three minutes to help secure the win.

"It got to 59-51, then we turned the ball over, then didn't get a look on offense, then they did a good job of making their free throws late in the game," Thomas said.

Franklin County's Josh Cannon scorched the nest for 24 points. Davonte Robinson pitched in 15 and Brandon Lester 14.

Andrews led all scorers with 34 points.

Franklin County held a 25-22 edge on the boards and shot 62 percent from the field.

"Give Franklin County credit, they really came out and played well," Thomas said. "This is very early in the season and the loss puts us behind in the district race but there is still a lot of basketball to be played and we're just going to have to dig ourselves out of it."

The Eagles return to action Tuesday night at Blackman.