MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. – The Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles (19-13, 5-3) struggled to slow down No. 6 ranked Walker Valley (27-3, 10-0) in the Region 3-4A semifinal, seeing their season come to a close in a 77-51 defeat at Warren County High School on Tuesday night.

Jordan Taylor scored a team-high 19 points in his final game as a Golden Eagle, Tommie Cannon finished with 15 points, and Tae’Shawn Shelton added nine points in his final game at Shelbyville Central. Unfortunately, the Golden Eagles committed 15 turnovers and connected on just three triples.

The Golden Eagles were without their head coach, Shane Young, for undisclosed reasons. Assistant James Hill filled in for Young admirably despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Meanwhile, the Mustangs were led by Turner Clayton’s game-high 21 points, with 20 of them coming in the first half alone. Zach Davis backed up his teammate with 18 points of his own. Walker Valley only turned the ball over six times despite relentless defensive pressure from the Golden Eagles.

Early on, it seemed like Walker Valley could not miss. Isaac Sausville knocked down a pair of three-pointers to complement Clayton’s relentless drives to the basket. Clayton scored 11 points in the first quarter alone to lead the Mustangs to a 23-11 lead after one. Cannon led the Golden Eagles with seven points in the quarter.

In the second, the Mustangs’ lead swelled to 21 points by the halftime break, 40-19, after outscoring the Golden Eagles 17-8. Clayton scored nine more points while Cannon attempted to fight back with five points for Shelbyville Central.

Coming out for the second half, the Golden Eagles attempted to rally, outscoring the Mustangs 19-14 in the third period to trim the lead to 54-38 heading into the final frame. Taylor and Shelton each scored six points for Shelbyville Central while Clayton did not score in the quarter for the Mustangs.

Finally, in the last eight minutes of a historic senior class’ career, Walker Valley pulled away late in the quarter as the result began to sink in. Davis scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter alone for the Mustangs while Taylor scored 10 of his team’s 13 points in the frame. The Mustangs ultimately outscored the Golden Eagles 23-13 in the fourth quarter to coast to the Region 3-4A title game.

Shelbyville Central’s season ends at 19-13 overall.

SHELBYVILLE CENTRAL: J. Taylor 19 (1), T. Cannon 15 (2), T. Shelton 9, J. Lee 4, M. Johnson 2, L. Sparrow 2. 

WALKER VALLEY: T. Clayton 21 (1), Z. Davis 18 (1) I. Sausville 9 (2), C. Coates 8, A. Davis 6, M. Wood 6, W. Keaton 5, G. Evans 2, H. Yost 2.