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Shawnee scored 24 points in first 3 quarters and 23 in fourth.

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By David Jablonski, Staff Writer 11:22 PM Friday, January 13, 2012

SPRINGFIELD — Coaches don’t get much time between quarters to give award-winning pep talks. Shawnee High School boys basketball coach Chris McGuire made what little time he had between the third and fourth quarters count Friday.

“This is it,” he told the Braves. “You’ve got to lay it on the line. If you want to win this game, you’ve got to go out and win this game.”

Sometimes all you need is one good quarter, and after scoring 24 points in the first three quarters, the Braves scored 23 in the fourth to rally from a 12-point deficit and beat Bellefontaine 47-45.

The Braves improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the Central Buckeye Conference Kenton Trail Division. They maintained a share of first place with Tecumseh, something that looked in doubt with Bellefontaine leading 36-24 after three quarters.

“We challenged them at the end of the third,” McGuire said. “We were flat. We were a step slow with everything we were doing.”

Andrew Young’s 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter ignited Shawnee. It took just over 3 minutes for it to erase Bellefontaine’s lead. Andrew Tincher’s 3-pointer tied the game at 37-37.

Jaelin Williams had nine of his 18 points in the final quarter.

“We know we had the talented players,” Williams said. “We’re a good team. We weren’t hitting at first. Drew Young’s shot really sparked it.”

“We started rolling once we hit a couple of shots,” McGuire said.

Shawnee completed a 13-1 run with a 3-pointer from Williams with 3:44 to play. It led 42-39, and it didn’t relinquish the lead.

“We put Jaelin in a position to handle the ball quite a bit,” McGuire said. “He shoots the ball well from the perimeter. He guards well. He rebounds well. He’s in a role where he’s got to do a lot of things.”

Derek Tincher scored 12 points despite spraining his ankle in the first quarter.

“He did a good job of gutting it out,” McGuire said. “He definitely wasn’t moving like he normally would. He got some good rebounds and hit some shots.”

Bellefontaine, the defending Kenton Trail champion, made it interesting in the final seconds, taking advantage of missed free throws by the Braves to cut the lead to two points. The Chieftains (4-5, 2-3 CBC) missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or David.Jablonski@coxinc.com.

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