Gary Bobcats Gymnasium on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 –
Shelbyville High School’s Dragons varsity basketball team improved their record to 24-7 with a 51-44 Bi-District Playoff win over the Chireno Owls (14-12). The Dragons came into the Texas UIL State Basketball Playoffs as the second place representative of District 23 2A and the Owls came in as the third seed of District 24. The win advances SHS to the Area round and they will face the winner of the Douglass versus Big Sandy game later this week.
The Dragons led 6-3 midway through the first period and they held an 8-5 point lead going into the second quarter. They led the Owls 23-10 at the midway intermission. The Dragons extended their lead to 32-16 halfway through the third stanza but the Owls went on a 10-1 point run and the Dragons lead narrowed to 33-26 going into the final period.
Chireno fought back during the final period to pull to within a single point, at 45-44 with just 28 seconds left in the game but key buckets by DJ Barnes and JaDavian Mathis helped SHS earn the 51-44 win to advance on to the next round. Mathis led all scorers with 23 points for the day. TaLeon Garner led Chireno with 13 points.
