Indians fall to Bucs in tough battle

Indians fall to Bucs in tough battle
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – The Indians faced a tough Shelton State squad Thursday night, and came up just short falling 93-82 for their first loss of the season.

"We knew it was going to be a tall task," said Coach Grant Pate. "Shelton State is a tough team and they shot the ball really well. They made the shots they needed to win and we just couldn't come up with the shots we needed."

In a fast pace, back-and-forth first half, the Indians (1-1) found themselves down early, but they battled back and took the lead on an Austin Timms (Mooreville) 3-pointer six minutes into the game. The lead wouldn't hold long, as the Bucs hurried down the court and drew a foul on a shot. The Indians would keep things close, but a 13-7 run over the final six minutes of the half would give the Bucs a 50-38 lead at the break.

The Indians came out strong in the second half and tied the game at 53-53 on a three point play by Lakee Westbrook (Tupelo) six minutes into the half. As the half progressed, the Indians found themselves constantly within striking distance of the lead, but committed several fouls, sending the Bucs to the charity stripe. The Bucs, made 20 of their 27 second half free throw attempts.

Those free throws played a huge role for the Bucs as they were able to pull away late and pick up the 93-82 win.

"We have a lot of positives to pull from tonight's game," said Pate. "We had a great effort and our guys really got after it in the second half, but we have some things that we need to work on."

The Indians will try to put the loss behind them as they prepare for Jones, who comes to Fulton next Thursday. The week between games will give the Indians time to see what they need to fix.

Westbrook lead the Indians with 24-points Thursday night, while Tyrone Wooten (Memphis, TN) added 19, Howard Thomas (Brandon) chipped in 13 and Timms with 11.

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