The Shelbyville Dragons Advance to the State Championship Game on Saturday

The Shelbyville Dragons looked like they had been here before and they have, but as team managers. Now is there time to make their own history. 

The speed and athleticism of the Dragons proved to be too much early on, as they raced out to an 11-5 lead 3 minutes into the game. A DJ Barnes 3 pointer with 4:10 to go in the 1st quarter increased the lead to the largest of the day, 14-7 for the Dragons. Steven Walker from Thrall did everything he did to keep his team in it by scoring 9 points at 3:00 minute mark. An assist from Barnes to Weston Frick answered to push the score to 16-13. Barnes converted 4-4 from the free throw line in the 1st quarter to lead the Dragons with 12 points. Thrall tried to get the ball inside to big man, Dawson Meiske early and often but Frick and a smothering Dragons defense kept him contained. At the end of the first period Shelbyville led 19-17.

The 2nd quarter opened with much of the same as the 1st, a Shelbyville defensive stop on one end of the floor and a Mathis drive and dump to a Frick finish. Walker would not sit long and re-entered the game with 5:31 to go in the half. An “And 1” by Ja’Davian Mathis with 4:59 to go gave Shelbyville their largest lead of the game at 26-19. A huge 3-pointer from Ethan Dahl cut the lead to 4, but Mathis answered with two freebies to make the game 28-22. Breken Proctor would score on a running floater, but Mathis would once again extend the margin to 6 points after another trip to the charity stripe. Geechie Mathis was a terror to the Tigers in the 2nd quarter scoring 11 of his 14 points in the frame. Thrall would answer and go on their own run for the first time in the contest, scoring the next six points to tie the game at 32 apiece going into the locker rooms at halftime. The Dragons held the advantage in points scored off of turnovers (+5) and points at the free throw line (+9), but were hurt by Thrall on the glass and second chance points (-8).  

Eli Ferguson would break his cold-shooting start to open the 2nd half with a catch and shoot 3-pointer at the 7:30 mark. Dylan Parker had a highlight chase down block with 6:38 to play in the 3rd. Meiske and Barnes would then trade baskets and Shelbyville would lead 37-34 with 5:58 to go. A Thrall 3-pointer would tie the game, then Ja’Davian Mathis would answer . Thrall would make its second 3-pointer of the quarter, but Barnes came right back down to find Frick on one end. He then would get a steal that led to Ferguson’s second 3-pointer of the quarter to push the Dragon advantage to four. Ja’Davian went coast-to-coast and Shelbyville began to get in a groove going ahead 46-40. An acrobatic finish by Barnes capped off a 9-0 run as the Dragons would go up 48-40 with 2:30 to play in the 3rd quarter. Barnes to Frick led to a Coach Wager timeout and beckoning of the Dragon faithful to get on their feet and get loud. The 11-0 run over two and a half minutes would extend the Dragons lead to double digits for the first time in the game. The Tigers would finally answer with a Meiske offensive rebound and putback to close the deficit to eight (50-42) going into the final period. 

One would probably expect Shelbyville to go into their patented delay game, but they came out with their foot on the gas and Ferguson would make his third 3-pointer of the half and give his team a new largest lead of the game at 53-42. A fan in the crowd cheered “Send them home” as Ferguson took his fourth 3-pointer of the half and he did his part, staying perfect and swishing it through. The Tigers were all but done at that point. The Dragons would go up 59-44 on a Barnes 3-point shot with 4:30 to go in the game. At 4:03, Thrall’s Meiske exited with an injury and on the very next possession, Walker would foul out. But those events would have little impact on the outcome as the Dragons were already in full control. Shelbyville would cruise to a 67-52 victory, led by big performances from DJ Barnes (23 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds) and Ja’Davian Mathis (22 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists). Eli Ferguson stepped up with 12 big second half points going 4-4 from the 3-point arc when his team needed it most. Weston Frick (8 points and 7 rebounds) also played big down low.

So here the Shelbyville Dragons are once again, in San Antonio, playing on Championship Saturday, with a chance to bring the 2A UIL basketball crown to a very familiar place, 75973. The only thing standing in their way…the defending champion Lipan Indians. It will be a West Texas vs. East Texas shootout at 1:30 in the Alamodome to see who cuts down the nets. It does not get much better than this!