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Vikings hold off Eagles in final minutes

By RICKEY CLARDY - Sports Writer
Posted 12/14/21

SHELBYVILLE – It might not have been a pretty win for the Community Vikings, but a win is a win.

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Vikings hold off Eagles in final minutes

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SHELBYVILLE – It might not have been a pretty win for the Community Vikings, but a win is a win.
The Vikings struggled from the free throw line in the last two minutes, but had enough of a lead to hold on and defeat the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles 45-39 in an intra-county basketball matchup Saturday night.
Neither team could mount more than a 4-point lead as the teams battled to gain the upper hand in the first quarter.  Stratton Lovvorn led Community (4-5) with five points while Jason Ragland led Shelbyville (2-7) with four points as the Vikings took a 11-10 lead to the second quarter.        
A trey by Joe Harris at the 7:50 mark gave the Eagles their last lead at 13-11.  Lovvorn scorched the nets for 12 points as the Vikings used two runs to take the lead.  After a 7-0 run put Community up 18-13, the Vikings scored the final 11 points of the quarter to take a 31-17 advantage into the intermission.
Both teams had trouble finding the basket in the third quarter.  Community was led by four points from Lovvorn, while Zay Reese and Tim Parsons accounted for all nine Shelbyville points.  The Vikings could only muster six points and took a 37-26 lead to the final quarter.
Community took time off the clock and still maintained a 41-32 lead with 2:20 left as the Eagles were forced to foul.  The bottom fell out as the Vikings missed eight free throws in the final two minutes, including two shots on the front end of one-and-ones.
Meanwhile, the Eagles took advantage with six points from Reese and five points from Parsons to narrow the gap.  Shelbyville used a perfect 4-of-4 performance from the free throw line in the quarter including two free throws by Parsons with 20 seconds remaining to cut the Viking lead to 42-39.
Despite its troubles from the line, Community used three free throws by Stratton in the final 18 seconds to seal the deal.
Lovvorn led all scorers with 24 points for the Vikings.
Reese had 15 points and Parsons added 10 to lead the Eagles.
The Vikings finished 13-of-24 at the foul line while the Eagles were 12-of-18.
“We challenged our guys at halftime to take that 14-point lead and push it out, but we did the exact same thing we did Tuesday night at Huntland,” Coach Robbie Davis of the Vikings said.  “We were able to stretch it back out against Huntland but tonight we weren’t because we don’t make free throws. They went down and did a good job of scoring in the fourth quarter and getting back in the game and we did a horrible job of stretching the lead out,” Davis added.
“We talked about effort and intensity in every step and it’s got to be with a sense of urgency,” Coach Kody Howard of the Eagles said.  “I thought we were lollygagging back on defense in the first half. I’m proud we only gave up 14 points in the second half. I’m proud of my guys for that.”
Shelbyville travels to Cascade Tuesday night while Community goes to Richland, also on Tuesday.  Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.
 
Community   11  20  6    8 - 45
Shelbyville     10    7  9  13 - 39
Community: Stratton Lovvorn 24, Cole Crockett 5, Maki Fleming 3, Ramon Hernandez 3, Trace Broiles, Jason Cullum 4, Corey Paterick 3, Noah Newkirk 3, Jacob Flannagan, Judd O’Neal.
Shelbyville: Zay Reese 15, Tim Parsons 10, Jason Ragland 6, Micah Heflin 3, Joe Harris 3, Jeremiah Jones 2, Terrance Johnson, Kyler Trice, Zay Alexander, Zyon Bonner.
3-Point goals: Community (4): Lovvorn 3, Paterick; Shelbyville (3): Parsons, Heflin, Harris.
Halftime score: Community 31, Shelbyville 17.