SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. – After bowing out in the quarterfinal round a season ago, the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (19-12, 5-3) responded after a disappointing district title game loss by pulling away in the second half to take down East Hamilton (13-14, 4-6), 68-53, in the Region 3-AAAA Quarterfinals on Saturday at home.

Tae’Shawn Shelton led the way with a game-high 21 points for Shelbyville Central, Jevon Lee added 14 points, and Malek Johnson scored nine points as the Golden Eagles turned a one-point halftime lead into a 15-point win.

Meanwhile, for the Hurricanes, Jayden Evans finished with a team-high 18 points, Jack Pendleton scored 13 points, and Jaxon Primus added 11 points, but East Hamilton turned the ball over 17 times.

Early on, the third-place team from District 5-4A made life uncomfortable for the hosts. Thanks to three treys in the opening period, the Hurricanes actually took a 17-15 lead at the end of the first. Shelton made two threes himself for the Golden Eagles while Johnson connected on his only three of the night to keep pace with the visitors.

In the second stanza, Shelbyville turned up the heat defensively, outscoring the ‘Canes, 11-8, to take a 26-25 lead heading into the halftime locker room. Shelton led the way with four points in the period. 

Coming out for the second half, Shelton continued to dominate in the third quarter, scoring eight more points to lead the Golden Eagles in the period. Tommie Cannon scored four of his six points in the third as well, leading Shelbyville Central to outscore East Hamilton by nine points, 15-6, to take a 41-31 lead into the final frame.

In the fourth, Evans got going again for the ‘Canes after his seven early points. Evans did not score in the middle stanzas, but he scored his final 11 points all in the fourth quarter. Pendleton knocked down his third triple of the night, and Primus connected on two more triples as well. However, it was ultimately not enough to overcome the onslaught from Jevon Lee. The lanky lefty scored every way imaginable around the basket, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter alone to keep the ‘Canes at bay. Ladd Sparrow also erupted for seven of his eight points in the final eight minutes, and the Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the region semifinals.

Shelbyville Central improves to 19-12 overall. The Golden Eagles travel to Warren County on Tuesday for the Region 3-4A Semifinals against the District 5-4A champions, Walker Valley at 6:00 p.m. The Mustangs come in with a 26-3 record, and are coming off of a 74-50 win against Coffee County in the quarterfinals.

SHELBYVILLE CENTRAL: T. Shelton 21 (2), J. Lee 14, M. Johnson 9 (1), L. Sparrow 8 (1), T. Cannon 6, J. Taylor 6, J. Berry 3, J. Conditt 1.

EAST HAMILTON: J. Evans 18 (2), J. Pendleton 13 (3), J. Primus 11 (3), C. Mayes 7, A. Sims 2.