Whippet boys remain unbeaten at home after beatingwooster

At the end of the night, shooting 25 percent from the floor wasn’t enough to keep Shelby unbeaten on their home floor.

Despite misfiring on their first eight shots of the game, the Whippets (9-3) were able to turn things around and build a nine-point lead in the third quarter before their shooting went south again.

Visiting Wooster (4-7) put together a 19-3 run to erase the deficit and went on to a 63-55 non-conference varsity boys basketball win Tuesday evening.

During the fateful third period, SHS was outscored 23-12 and their 34-28 halftime lead evaporated into a 51-46 hole.

Shelby coach Greg Gallaway was quick to note that shooting 25 percent is not going to win any game. The 15 turnovers by his team also were critical.

“When you look at the rebounds (Shelby 45-37) and free throws (made 20 of 25), you would think we had won the game. That wasn’t the case when you shot 25 percent and turned the ball over like we did,” said Gallaway.

The Whippets needed more than five minutes before they made a field goal, finally breaking the ice with a hoop by Alex Bruskotter that made it 9-7. The red and gray stayed close by hitting free throws.

The hosts first lead of the game was at 10-9 on a three-pointer by

Jeremy Holloway. SHS led 13-12 at the close of the first eight minutes.

Shelby extended its lead to seven (26-19) on two charity tosses by Holloway and a three-pointer by Bruskotter with time running out in the first half on a cross-court pass from Andre Hill pushed the Whippets ahead 34-28 at the intermission.

SHS appeared to be seizing control of the game with a 41-32 lead after a pair of Hill free throws, but the wheels fell off as the red and gray were haunted by five turnovers and one of seven shooting to close out the period as the Generals rallied.

A Jack Williams bucket gave Wooster the lead for good at 46-44. The visitors led 51-46 heading to the fourth.

Shelby clawed as close as three, the last time being 56-53 on a free throw by Marshall Shepherd.

Wooster cemented the win by hitting seven of their last 10 free throws. During the same stretch, the Whippets were one of six from the floor.

Bruskotter topped SHS with 23 points and also had nine boards. Holloway came through with a double-double in the loss with 11 markers and 15 caroms. Also scoring were Hill (9), Shepherd (6), Issaiah Ramsey (4) and Bryson Baker (2).

Shelby made only 15 of 60 floor shots during the 32 minutes.

“Seven of our first eight shots were jumpers. We needed to move the ball around and get to the rim. We settled too much at the start,” spoke Gallaway about early shot selection. “When shots don’t fall, you cannot let it affect other parts of the game, such as defending. When you’re missing shots, you cannot let it affect the next possession and I felt we did that tonight.”

Drew Dossi powered the Generals with 17 and was followed by Williams (12), Micah Mckeee (10), Xavier Simpson (10), Blake Bowen (9) and Zach Harpster (5).

Friday the Whippets will look to rebound when they travel to Ontario for a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference clash.

“As disappointing as this loss is, all our goals the seniors made are still in front of us.

We’ll come to practice Wednesday and reiterate that because we have a big game at Ontario Friday,” said Gallaway.

Shelby JV’S handed first loss of season

The Shelby junior varsity boys basketball team suffered their loss of the winter with a 42-40 setback against Wooster.

The Whippets (101) led 13-6 and 21-13 at the first half breaks before being outpointed 29-19 over the final two periods by the Generals.

Izzy Roub notched 15 points for SHS and was followed by Tanner Hartz (11), Karsen Homan (6), Casey Lantz (4), Gavin Bishop (2) and Nic Eyster (2).