The Pendleton Heights Arabians just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Shelbyville Golden Bears at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Pendleton Heights is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.2 points per game this season.
Pendleton Heights will face Shelbyville after dropping another heartbreaker against New Palestine on Friday, which marked the second time in a row the team's come within 3.1 of beating them. Pendleton Heights took a 59-51 hit to the loss column at the hands of New Palestine. While losing is never fun, the Arabians can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 110th, while the Dragons are ranked tenth).
| 01/17/25 vs New Palestine | 20 |
| 01/13/25 vs Frankton | 17 |
| 01/08/25 @ Anderson | 16 |
| 01/07/25 vs Lapel | 21 |
| 12/28/24 vs Indianapolis Bishop Chatard | 30 |
Pendleton Heights' defeat came about despite a quality game from Cooper Sims, who went 8 for 13 en route to 20 points. The matchup was Sims' seventh in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Hayden Fox, who posted ten points.
Meanwhile, Shelbyville was able to grind out a solid win over Columbus East on Tuesday, taking the game 65-52. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Golden Bears.
Shelbyville's win came from a few key players Pendleton Heights will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Gavin Reed, who went 5 of 8 on his way to 15 points and five rebounds. Those 15 points gave him a new career-high. Cole Schene was another key player, as he made all 5 shots he took racking up 11 points.
Shelbyville is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven contests, which provided a nice bump to their 11-3 record this season. As for Pendleton Heights, their loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 5-7.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Pendleton Heights has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 20.2 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Shelbyville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 23.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Pendleton Heights beat Shelbyville 46-39 when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Does Pendleton Heights have another victory up their sleeve, or will Shelbyville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
