The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles season officially came to a close on the road against the Lincoln County Falcons on Thursday, 64-54, in the District 9-AAAA quarterfinals.
The game began on Tuesday before a medical emergency for one of Shelbyville’s seniors in the halftime locker room brought the contest to a screeching halt with everyone anxiously awaiting for an update on the player’s condition. Once he was announced to be stable on Wednesday morning, the second half of the game was scheduled to be finished on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
The first half on Tuesday was full of back and forth action offensively as one would have expected. Shelbyville had split the regular season contests with the home team winning both times. The Golden Eagles were not phased by the road environment early on however, taking an 18-17 lead after the end of the opening period. Shelbyville senior Kyler Trice scored eight points in the quarter, and a pair of three-pointers from the visitors showcased a balanced attack early on.
However, the Falcons would respond in the second quarter, taking a 28-27 lead into the halftime locker room before the postponement.
When the second half began on Thursday, Lincoln County’s star guard Reese Smith, held to just three made free throws in the first half, began to take over. He scored 12 of his 24 second-half points in the third quarter to set the tone, but thanks in-part to Shelbyville’s Shamarion Draper scoring nine of his own, the Golden Eagles entered the final frame only down five, 48-43.
Despite holding the hosts to zero field goals in the fourth quarter, Shelbyville just could not stop sending the hosts to the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons went 15/18 from the charity stripe to put the game away.
Smith went 12/14 in the fourth quarter alone to finish with a game-high 27 points, Maddox Franklin chipped in with 17 points, and Lincoln County pulled away to win by 10.
Kyler Trice led Shelbyville with 12 points, Shamarion Draper scored 11 points, and Mookie Johnson finished with 10 points. Tae’ Shawn Shelton added nine points as well.
Lincoln County improves to 6-21 (3-7) and advances to the District 9-AAAA semi-finals to take on the top-seeded Coffee County Raiders on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
The Golden Eagles’ disappointing season ends at 6-21 (2-8).
