Saturday, December 29, 2018, Tenaha Special Events Center –
The Shelbyville Dragons varsity basketball team reached the title game of Tenaha’s Holiday Hoops Invitational Tournament but fell 62-55 in a hard-fought battle with the Lipan Indians. The battle between top ranked Class 1A and 2A Division I teams was fast paced throughout.
Lipan’s Layton Sharp exploded for 17 points in the first quarter alone and helped the Indians jump out to a 24-13 lead by the end of the opening frame. Sharp had an additional eight points in the second stanza to boost his first half point total to 25. He eventually had a game-high 32 points.
The third quarter saw Shelbyville’s Cole Ferguson score 10 of his team’s 23 points during the period to help the Dragons to cut the previous 15-point deficit to just 9 points. Shelbyville went into the final quarter trailing Lipan 46-37. Ferguson had a team high 22 points for the game. Teammate Jay Buckley chipped in 19 points to help the Dragon’s cause. Ferguson and Buckley were named to the Holiday Hoops Tournament's All Tournament team.
Shelbyville was able to outscore Lipan by an 18-16 margin in the final period. But this was too-little-too-late as Lipan took the 62-55 win for the tournament’s title.
The Dragons, coached by David Schmitt, were Class 2A Division 1 finalist last season. They are scheduled to play the Joaquin Rams in their third District 22 Class 2A game at Shelbyville High School’s Dragons Gymnasium, at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, January 4, 2019. The Dragons are currently 2-0 in district action and 19-2 overall.
