Whippets fall to Indians after a hard fought game
By MIKE FRANK WDN Sports Editor
LIMA — The madness has come to an end.
Shelby put up a strong effort, but Shawnee battled its way to a 76-67 win over the Whippets in a Region 6 semifinal of the Division II tournament on Thursday night.
The Indians had the early momentum and took a 10-point lead after the first quarter. But Shelby found its groove in the second and third. They got the lead down to single digits at the break, then caught and passed Shawnee by the end of the third.
A couple more scores had Shelby up 63-57 early in the fourth. Shawnee responded to the challenge with a 14-0 outburst, most of it coming from star George Mangas. The Indians then maintained the advantage down the homestretch for the win.
“We spotted them way too many points in the first half,” said
Shelby coach Nathon Loney. He praised the effort, noting “the kids fought hard. I can’t be disappointed with their effort.”
Regarding the deciding run by Shawnee, Loney said that he wanted to try and run time off the clock to protect the lead, but turnovers prevented that.
He also noted the team’s poor shooting from 3-point range. The Whippets made just 5 of 23 (22 percent) from beyond the arc.
He praised the job done by junior Marshall Shepherd in defending Mangas, and added that the full court man pressure helped rally the Whippets from the early deficit.
“I told them they just went toe-to-toe with the second-best team in the state,” said Loney.
Senior T.J. Pugh led Shelby’s offense with 32 points, while junior Andre Hill had 16. Shepherd was the leading rebounder with nine.
Mangas finished with 39 points on the evening, mostly coming at the start and end of the contest. Caden Vermillon was the other Indian in double figures with 13. Tyson Elwer had 10 rebounds.
The teams traded baskets to open the contest with Mangas and Pugh having the honors.
Shawnee then hit the gas, and went on a 11-3 run. Mangas had seven of those, including a three-point play. Brazure Roberts had the score for Shelby.
After a couple more scoring exchanges, a basket by Pugh was followed by a steal and layup by Hill, cutting the lead to four, 17-13.
But Austin Miller had a steal and score for the Indians, with Mangs hitting two more. Pugh made one for Shelby, but the Indians answered with 3s by Mangas and Toby Freiberger.
Shelby closed out the first period with Pugh scoring, then creating a basket with a very sharp bounce pass to
Jeremy Holloway.
Shawnee pushed its lead from 10 at the end of one up to 15 in the early part of the second. Pugh then made two free throws and hit two from the floor.
After score by Shawnee, Hill caught a long pass and put it through the hoop. He was fouled on the play. He missed the free throw, but Shawnee had entered the lane early. The second chance was good.
Hill then nailed a three-pointer and Pugh scored off a turnover with about a minute to go. That cut the gap to just three, 38-35, and a free throw by Hill with 46 seconds shrank it more.
Scores by Vermilllon and Elwer closed out the first half and left the Indians with a sixpoint advantage.
Mangas got two baskets at the start of the third, with Cody Lantz splashing a three in between for the Whippets.
Pugh made two foul shots. After a miss from long range, Shepherd snared the ball and put in back in to make it 46-43.
With Shawnee up 50--45, Vermillon was hit with a technical for a comment. Pugh made both free throws. Shelby kept the ball and Hill connected from behind the arc to make it dead even at 50 with 4:15 to go in the period.
Shawnee regained the lead by three. With 1:54 to go, Pugh made two from the line. He then scored again to give the Whippets their first lead of the night, 58-57, going into the fourth.
Grant Hiatt, one of the team’s four seniors, then did his part. He hit a shot in the opening minute, then followed it with a 3-pointer to give Shelby a six-point lead.
Vermillon made a layup for Shawnee. Mangas made two free throws. He then scored on a fast break, was fouled and completed the play.
A trey by Jarin Bertke was followed by two more Mangas scores as the Indians roared back in control.
Running short on time, the Whippets had to start fouling and Shawnee made enough down the stretch to preserve its lead and extend its season.