MANCHESTER, Tenn. – The No. 1 seed Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (18-11, 5-3) overcame a slow start offensively to take down No. 5 seed Cookeville (17-10, 3-5), 54-48, in the District 6-4A semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Coffee County High School.

The Golden Eagles were led by Tae’Shawn Shelton’s team-high 12 points. Jevon Lee added 11 points, and Malek Johnson scored eight points. As a team, Shelbyville Central struggled at the line, finishing 9-of-18, but they went 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter.

For the Cavaliers, Jalen Denk led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, Bo Maxwell hit four threes en route to 14 points, but Cookeville finished with 16 turnovers as a team to just nine for Shelbyville Central. 

Early on, both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm as Cookeville took a 7-5 lead at the end of the opening period. Jasiah Berry scored four of his six points in the first while Maxwell’s three, and Walker Redding’s four points put the Cavs in front.

In the second stanza, both teams began to score at a more usual rate with Cookeville outscoring the Golden Eagles 18-17 to take a 25-22 lead into the halftime locker room. Denk scored eight of his 18 in the second and Maxwell added eight more on two threes for the Cavs. Shelton, Jordan Taylor, and Lee all scored four points in the second period for Shelbyville Central, and Johnson converted on an old-fashioned three-point play to keep the Golden Eagles close.

Coming out for the second half, Shelbyville Central was able to outscore the Cavs by one, 13-12, to trim the lead to two points, 37-35, heading into the final frame. Shelton scored four more, Johnson hit the Golden Eagles only three-pointer of the game, and Lee added four points. Meanwhile, Denk scored eight more in the third, bringing his total to 16 entering the fourth.

However, the top-seeded Golden Eagles managed to find a way to win in the fourth quarter, closing out the Cavs by outscoring them, 19-11, and advance to the district championship for the second year in a row. Jack Conditt came up clutch at the line, scoring all five of his points in the fourth quarter and converting on 3-of-4 attempts at the stripe. Tommie Cannon scored four big points, Shelton added four and converted on a pair of free throws, and the Golden Eagles did just enough to secure one more home game in the Region 3-4A Tournament.

Shelbyville Central improves to 18-11 overall. The Golden Eagles advance to the District 6-4A Championship Game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Coffee County High School against No. 3 seed Lincoln County, who upset the hosts by one, 48-47, on Saturday.

SHELBYVILLE: T. Shelton 12, J. Lee 11, M. Johnson 8 (1), J. Berry 6, T. Cannon 6, J. Taylor 6, J. Conditt 5.

COOKEVILLE: J. Denk 18, B. Maxwell 14 (4), W. Redding 7, B. Herren 6, J. Mitchell 2, R. Wallace 1.