Basketball Game Preview: Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles vs. Northeast Eagles

It'll be Battle of the Birds when the Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles face off against the Northeast Eagles at 7:30 p.m. on Monday... Both have had a bumpy ride up to this point with seven consecutive losses for Shelbyville Central and five for Northeast.

Last Saturday, Shelbyville Central came up short against Memphis University School and fell 44-37. While losing is never fun, the Golden Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 204th, while the Owls are ranked 63rd).

Meanwhile, while it was all tied up 26-26 at halftime, Northeast was not quite Northwest's equal in the second half back in December of 2024. They took a 56-49 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Vikings. While the Eagles didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Vikings 18-13 in the first quarter.

Shelbyville Central will need focus on slowing down Tayshaun Mozee, one of several Northeast players who made an impact when they last played. He posted 17 points. That was a full 34.7% of Northeast's points, marking the third time in a row he's put up more than a third of the team's points. The team also got some help courtesy of Jo Sia Harris, who had seven points along with six rebounds and four blocks.

Shelbyville Central's defeat dropped their record down to 5-10. As for Northeast, their loss dropped their record down to 1-9.

Shelbyville Central took their win against Northeast in their previous matchup back in November of 2024 by a conclusive 75-51. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mozee, who dropped a double-double on 20 points and 11 rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Shelbyville Central still be able to contain Mozee? There's only one way to find out.