Lawrence Co. trips up Eagles

COLUMBIA -- Shelbyville Central fell behind early and couldn't find a way to bounce back in a 65-43 loss to Lawrence County in the semifinals of the District 8-AAA tournament Saturday night.

The Golden Eagles (15-12) face Franklin County in a consolation game tonight at 6:30.

"We're playing for a better seed in the region now and hopefully we'll come out and want it more," Shelbyville coach Kevin Thomas said. "There's not much satisfaction in playing for third place."

The Wildcats (21-4) jumped out to a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

They outscored Shelbyville 17-9 in the second stanza to post a 30-15 advantage at the half and took a 46-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

"Lawrence County just outplayed us from the tip till the end," Thomas said. "We just didn't bring enough effort. I thought we'd be fired up and ready to play this game but you could tell from the start they we were just not mentally ready to play. The effort we showed in this game is not what our program is all about."

Lawrence County placed three players in double figures. Kyle Brink led the way with a game-high 17 points. Alex Brown and Shelly Young contributed 11 apiece.

Lawrence County drilled seven 3-pointers in the game.

The Eagles were led by Seth Jarrell's 10 points.