Offensively, it was Columbus East’s best output of the season.
It was the complete opposite on the defensive end.
The Olympians surrendered 11 3-point baskets, and Shelbyville handed them a 65-61 boys basketball loss Tuesday night.
“Our primary issue was that we didn’t close out on shooters, and we struggled against some of the drive and kicks,” East assistant coach Mark Meier said. “If we would have cleaned that up and made them shoot a few more contested shots, we would have been on the right side of the score tonight.”
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Prior to the game, Shelbyville coach and assistant athletics director Ryan Mack resigned from his position and did not travel with the team to the game. Assistant John Hartnett filled in as the interim coach.
The sudden change of plans didn’t have much of an effect when the Golden Bears (7-7) hit the court, and they battled with the Olympians (3-8) throughout much of the first quarter. East used an 8-0 to close out the first quarter and lead 19-16.
The Olympians found themselves down 29-28 following a triple from Shelbyville’s Layton Stieneker with less than two minutes left in the first half, but a 3-pointer from Ben Kuhlman gave East a 31-29 lead. A jumper from Mitch Yeend at the buzzer tied the game at 31-31 heading into the locker room.
Neither team led by more than five points in the second half. The Golden Bears led 55-54 until Daniel Murphy gave the Olympians a 56-55 lead, but it was short-lived when Luke Asher sank a 3-pointer to give the Golden Bears the lead for good 58-56 with less than three minutes left. Shelbyville was able to close out the win from there.
“All season long, we had good defensive showings, and our offense has been the one lagging behind,” East junior Tyler Boyer said. “We’ve been practicing and putting new stuff into it. The offense played well tonight. We just didn’t have enough on the defensive end.”
Murphy led the Olympians with 15 points. Jacob Pierce had 12 and Boyer added 11.
Asher led all scorers with 22 points for the Golden Bears. Jack Baker finished with 17, and Stieneker added 12.
East will have its hands full Friday night when it hosts Class 4A No. 2 and unbeaten Bloomington South.
