Shelbyville Times-Gazette: High School Sports: Eagles come back for win in final minutes (02/24/10)

Golden Eagle point guard Isiah Washington (21) goes up for a shot and draws a foul.
(T-G Photo by Gary Johnson)

COLUMBIA -- Shelbyville Central battled back from a 12-point deficit to claim a 54-52 win over Franklin County in the consolation game of the District 8-AAA tournament on Tuesday evening.

Trailing 48-36 with 4:07 left to play, the Eagles (16-12) turned up the defensive pressure then scored 15 unanswered points to go up 51-48 and take control. During that run sophomore point guard Zach Hamler had a pair of steals and scored six of his 10 points.

"That run we had at the end of the game was caused by our defensive effort. We created some turnovers and was able to use our quickness," Shelbyville coach Kevin Thomas said. "Our defense and ability to knock down our free throws was huge in this game."

Shelbyville cashed in on 15-of-20 from the charity stripe, including 9-of-12 in the fourth quarter.

Shelbyville Central's Bobby Wilson drives to the basket.
(T-G Photo by Gary Johnson)

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Junior post Bobby Wilson pitched in a game-high 20 points, including 12-of-14 from the free throw line.

Senior Nathan Jefferies drained a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

"Playing with three starters out, we knew that it was going to be tough. I told the kids that everybody knows what we don't have, now let's show them what we do have," Thomas said. "Everybody that stepped on that floor had to play hard and I think that they played with a lot of heart tonight."

Shelbyville's Bobby Wilson (left) was named to the All-District 8-AAA team while Emmanuel Andrews was named the Player of the Year. Seth Jarrell (not pictured) was also named all-district.
(T-G Photo by Gary Johnson)

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Josh Cannon led Franklin County in scoring with 15 points, followed by Davonte Robinson with 12.

The Rebels (14-17) led 9-6 at the end of the first stanza, closed out the half with eight unanswered points to post a 28-20 advantage at intermission and settled for a 41-31 lead after three periods.

"We got a little sloppy there at the end of the first half and had a number of turnovers that led to some easy buckets for them," Thomas said. "I was extremely proud of how we settled down and battled back in the second half. Our young guys continue to show some progress and are getting some valuable experience that should carry over into next year."

The Eagles finished third in the district tournament and will play at No. 2 seed Siegel in the Region 4-AAA tournament Saturday night at 7.

Franklin County travels to top seed Oakland.

The semifinals and finals of the region tournament will be hosted by Shelbyville.