Lions lay it on the line
Strong free throw shooting boosted Columbia Central to a big first-half lead, and the Lions withstood a late Shelbyville rally Tuesday night for a 74-63 District 8-AAA homecourt victory.
It was the fourth straight win for Central (6-11, 3-3), three coming in league play.
Q Martin and DQ Mitchell did most of the hosts’ early work from the foul line in the first half, earning their way to the charity stripe on drives to the basket. Martin connected on 7 of 8 free throws in the opening two quarters (12-14 for the game) en route to a team-high 16 points, with Mitchell hitting all five of his attempts.
Cam Johnson and Keshawn Frierson each converted both of their attempts as well.
“We’ve gotten better at shooting free throws,” said coach Nick Campbell. “We’re getting up there and taking our time and knocking down free throws. We’re a good shooting team.”
Behind that effort, Central scored 20 unanswered points — 11 from the line — and turned a 14-8 deficit into a commanding 28-14 lead.
By halftime, that cushion grew to 20, 41-21.
But the Golden Eagles (3-16, 2-4) rallied in the second half behind the perimeter shooting of Jailain Anderson and Erman Garcia. Shelbyville cut the 20-point margin all the way down to three, 60-57, with 2:37 left.
In the game’s waning moments, though, with Anderson and Garcia saddled with four fouls each, Central was able to drive against them and get to the rim late to close out the victory.
Anderson finished with 23 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead all scorers. Garcia added four 3-pointers and 20 points for Shelbyville.
“We did a great job of taking away the 3-pointers in the first half,” said Campbell. “I think we relaxed a little bit when we got up by 20, and they did a good job of closing it down the stretch.”
The Lions also converted free throws in the final possessions to maintain the lead. Columbia wasn’t as good from the line in the second half (7-of-12) but effective in their last few possessions when Shelbyville had to foul.
Devin Reynolds added 12 points for Central, with Mitchell and Eli McCoy scoring 11 each.
With their fourth consecutive win, Campbell said the team is getting ready for the heart of the District 8-AAA competition. The Lions host district-leading Coffee County Friday. They lost by only three, 48-45, at Coffee County on Dec. 16.
“We’re playing with more energy, more purpose,” he said. “We’re finishing games now. We went through a stretch earlier when we lost six games by (a combined) 21 points. We’re winning close games now.”
? Double-double not enough: Despite a four-point halftime lead and a basket to open the third quarter, the host Lady Lions were unable to stem Shelbyville’s late run in an eventual 69-55 defeat.
Trailing 29-23 early in the second half, the Golden Eaglettes (8-11, 3-3) battled back to tie the contest at 39, then went on a 12-2 run in the fourth period to claim the victory.
“We just calmed down and played more poised, played with maturity,” Shelbyville coach Jen Hicks said.
Janiyha Riley led Columbia Central (3-14, 1-5) with a game-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds. Kaylee Adams scored 20 points for Shelbyville.
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Shelbyville girls 69, Columbia Central 55
S 9 14 24 22 — 69
C 17 10 15 13 — 55
Shelbyville (69) — Kaylee Adams 20, Jaleigh Harris 17, Aliyah Singleton 11, Kelsey Harden 9, Izarria Alexander 5, Izarria Alexander 5, Kendall Dearing 5, Mary Alice Shavers 2
Columbia Central (55) — Janiyha Riley 26, Josie Parks 18, Karma Hunt 8, Ryleigh Hamm 3
3-pointers — Shelbyville 2 (Singleton, Dearing), Columbia Central 1 (Hunt)
Columbia Central boys 74, Shelbyville 63
S 14 8 18 23 — 63
C 21 20 12 21 — 74
Shelbyville (63) — Jailain Anderson 23, Erman Garcia 20, Devyn Heath 10, Jayshon Jones 7, Tim Parsons 2, Daman Heath 1
Columbia Central (74) — Q Martin 16, Devin Reynolds 12, DQ Mitchell 11, Eli McCoy 11, Keshawn Frierson 7, Carter Szydlowski 6, Cam Johnson 5, Bubba Perkins 4, Omari Franklin 2
3-pointers — Shelbyville 7 (Anderson 3, Garcia 4), Columbia Central 3 (McCoy, Frierson, Johnson)