CAMDEN — Preble Shawnee picked up two key wins in the Southwestern Buckeye League last week to remain in the hunt for at least a share of the Buckeye Division title.
The wins, though, didn’t come easy.
Shawnee held off visiting Waynesville, 58-55, on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The Spartans had a 3-point shot at the buzzer to tie the game, but the shot was offline.
On Friday, Shawnee looked as if it was going to make easy work of host Northridge, as the Arrows raced out to a 37-23 halftime lead on the way to a 74-66 win. But the host Polar Bears outscored Shawnee 21-9 in the third quarter to pull within two. The Arrows regrouped in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.
Against Waynesville, Austin Moore scored the game’s first seven points to give Shawnee a 7-0 lead in the first three minutes. Shawnee led 13-11 after one. Moore finished with 11 on the night.
Waynesville opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to take an 18-13 lead. Shawnee, though, scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 26-20 lead and never trailed again. The Arrows led 27-25 at halftime. Chase Thompson came off the bench to score eight of 12 points.
In the third, Levi Lewis (seven points) and Joey Bates (16) points each scored six points as Shawnee extended its lead to 44-37.
The Arrows led by as many as nine, 50-41, with six minutes remaining and had a 55-47 lead with 1:30 to play. After Kevin Ketring knocked down a pair of free throws with 56.1 seconds left, Shawnee held a 57-50 lead, but Waynesville rallied to within two at 57-55 with 25 seconds left.
Against Northridge, Bates scored a game-high 20 points and had 10 rebounds, while Lewis added 16. Tyler Worley tossed in 14 and Thompson contributed 10. Thompson also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Ketring added seven points and six assists.
The Arrows are now 12-6 overall and a league best 9-1 in the SWBL. Carlisle is currently 8-1.
Shawnee will travel to Middletown Madison on Friday, Feb. 10 and visit Arcanum on Saturday.
