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Tae Whetstone, above, played a big key in Shelby County’s 71-62 victory against Marbury on Thursday, Jan. 24, to finish area play a perfect 6-0. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

Tae Whetstone, above, played a big key in Shelby County’s 71-62 victory against Marbury on Thursday, Jan. 24, to finish area play a perfect 6-0. (For the Reporter/Larry Dancy)

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor 

DEATSVILLE – The Shelby County boys basketball team has seen its share of ups and downs over the last few years, but on Thursday, Jan. 24, all of the hard work under head coach Cedric Drake finally paid off as the Wildcats finished undefeated in area play for the first time in five years thanks to a 71-62 road victory against Marbury.

With the win, the Wildcats not only capped off a perfect 6-0 record in area play but will now host the Class 5A Area 6 tournament giving them a great chance to advance to the postseason.

A big reason for that success this season has been due to the hot hands of Nathan Bates and Tae Whetstone, and both showed out knowing what was on the line in this one.

The two combined for 46 of the Wildcats’ 71 points thanks to impressive shooting from the field and the free throw line and it started in the first quarter with Bates.

He hit two 3-pointers and one field goal for eight points in the period, but he was only able to get four combined points from two other players as Shelby County put up just 12 points.

Marbury, however, started the game on fire in the first two quarters.

In the opening period, they got 10 points from Reginald Brown and seven combined points from three other players, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-12 advantage at the end of one.

Marbury backed that up with 21 points in the second quarter thanks to seven more points from Brown and nine points from Zamari Brown.

With that strong effort from the Bulldogs, Shelby County was going to need a special quarter offensively to not let the deficit get out of hand, and that’s exactly what the Wildcats got.

Not only did Bates stay hot hitting two more 3-pointers, but Whetstone chimed in with five points, while RJ Straate became the key addition in the period with three made 3-pointers.

Those three alone combined for 20 points thanks to five 3-pointers, while Isaac Montgomery added two more points to help the Wildcats outscore the Bulldogs 22-21 in the period.

While they still went into the half down 38-34, the Wildcats had gained a ton of momentum after seeing so many field goals fall in the quarter.

Coming out in the second half, that not only sparked Shelby County’s offense, but the defense also had an extra pep in its step.

The Wildcats got two more 3-pointers and eight total points from Bates, while Whetstone, Brock Phillips, Straate and combined for 13 points to help the team post 21 more points.

Defensively, Shelby County was able to limit the Bulldogs to just two scorers in the period as they only posted 11 points, which allowed the Wildcats to storm in front for a 55-49 lead heading to the fourth.

In the final quarter, Marbury was able to stay within reach due to two 3-pointers from Zamari Brown, but then the game became about free throws, and that’s where Bates and Whetstone excelled.

Bates ended up making five of his six free throws in the clutch, while Whetstone went 5-6 from the line, while also hitting a 3-pointer and an additional field foal for 10 fourth quarter points.

Those two helped Shelby County close the game out with 16 more points to pull away for the 71-62 victory.

Bates led the way for the Wildcats with 27 points, while Whetstone added 19 of his own. Straate also finished in double figures with 11 points thanks in large part to his three 3-pointers. For the night, Shelby County hit 12 shots from beyond the arc.

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