SHELBY — It took Sandusky about an hour to come to Shelby on Friday night.
The Whippets’ road back in a 59-56 loss to the Blue Streaks must have seemed a lot longer.
That’s because Shelby, which trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, battled back to regain the lead in the fourth quarter before falling short in the tilt for first place of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division.
The win, which avenged a Dec. 15 loss to Shelby on the Blue Streaks’ home floor, improved Sandusky to 9-4 overall, 6-2 in the league. Shelby fell to 8-3, 4-3 in the conference.
Shelby coach Troy Schwemley agreed the effort expended in the second half was too much to overcome, especially for a team that has a seven-man rotation.
“That’s a good point,” the veteran coach said. “The kids did a good job of battling back. We just dug too big a hole.
“We try to keep the kids fresh, but we are only playing seven guys right now. I thought our effort was pretty good.”
THRILLING FINISH: Sandusky led 17-12 after the first quarter and built its edge to 35-21 in the second before settling for a 37-26 lead at the intermission.
The Whippets’ rally began with an 11-5 run during a three-plus minute span of the third quarter before a Sandusky basket made the deficit 47-40 after three.
Thanks to 11 fourth-quarter points by junior Uriah Schwemley, Shelby took a 54-52 lead with 3:36 left in the fourth. But the Blue Streaks connected on 5 of 6 from the line down the stretch, coupled with a bucket by sophomore Dylan Jones, to regain a 59-56 lead with 16 seconds left.
Sandusky coach Colin Irish then knew what the Whippets had in mind.
“I thought (Shelby) would go for a quick two and then try to steal or foul. I thought our kids stayed focused defensively,” he said.
“We got up by a lot then kept our composure down the stretch,” Irish said. “”We made free throws and played under control. We finished the job.”
The Whippets instead moved the ball around the perimeter before senior Carter Brooks fired a three in the final seconds that rimmed off, effectively ending the game.
Schwemley said his team took too long to make an offensive decision.
“We told them they needed to make up their mind. We would have taken a quick lay-up and then possibly go for a steal. The plan was to attack the basket and then maybe take a three if the defense collapsed,” Schwemley said.
“We talked about whoever got the ball, we wanted them to attack and get a quick two and extend the game,” Schwemley said. “We wanted to make them make more free throws and then maybe we have more time at the end. We just took too much time.”
MATURING YOUTH: Sandusky, which features two sophomore guards among its leading scorers, has won eight of its last nine since losing 76-68 at home to Madison on Dec. 19.
“Maturity,” Irish said when asked to explain the difference. “We are growing up a lot as a group. We are fairly young. We work them hard, but the kids are having fun.”
Senior Keith Williams led Sandusky with 18 points, 14 of them coming in the first half. Jones had 14, including 10 in the first half. Sophomore Tahj Staveskie had 13.
“Our defensive gameplan was to defend their three leading scorers better than we did,” Schwemley said.
Uriah Schwemley led the Whippets with 21 points. Brooks added 11 while junior Hunter Hoffman had nine and senior Brady Hill had eight.
UP NEXT: It gets no easier for Shelby tonight when undefeated Mansfield St. Peter’s (14-0), the state’s fourth-ranked Division IV team, travels north to battle the Whippets.
“It doesn’t get easier (Saturday) or next week or the week after,” Schwemley said. “That’s just our schedule. We’re disappointed we didn’t win tonight, but we have to regroup and come back tomorrow night.”
Sandusky is idle until Friday when the Blue Streaks host Tiffin Columbian.
