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| LENNARD SHELL SCORED A SEASON-HIGH 10 POINTS. |
BY TREVOR HORN
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
YUBA CITY – Led by a season-high 10-point performance by reserve guard Lennard Shell, the Inderkum Tigers beat Yuba City High School 59-55 Thursday night.
The Jan. 10 game marked the first Tri-County Conference home loss for Yuba City since Feb. 8, 2012.
“That’s a big win,” Inderkum varsity head coach Rodney Haymer said. “Yuba City has been dominate in the TCC. Yuba City in basketball is what Inderkum is in football. They just don’t lose in the TCC. And to beat them on the road on the opening night of the TCC is a staple win for us.”
Inderkum (11-7 overall, 1-0 TCC) has never won a TCC title and snapped an 0-11 skid against the Honkers since a 78-71 home win on Jan. 12, 2007.
Yuba City had won 41 of its last 42 league games coming into Thursday night and is the five-time defending league champion team.
With 4 minutes, 15 second left in the game, the Tigers led by just three points at 52-49.
Inderkum then went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a two-possession outburst from senior Shell who scored a layup, then stole a pass at half court and gave the Tigers a commanding 10-point lead on an uncontested layup.
“I knew I had to bring the momentum to my team off the bench,” Shell said. “We knew we had to step up.”
With starter Quentin Davis sidelined with concussion symptoms, Haymer needed someone else to step up against Yuba City (8-9, 0-1 TCC).
“Everything any player on my team gets, they earn,” Haymer said. “When they play, they know they earn their playing time. I don’t give anything away. (Shell) earned that. It makes us a better team when everyone is contributing.”
Terrence White scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the first half. White credited Shell, who also had a team-high five steals, for being the team’s focal point when it came to shutting down the Honkers late in the game.
“It was huge,” White said. “Nobody was scoring because (Shell) started doing his thing.”
Andrew Ignont led the Tigers with 12 rebounds and Samer Dhillon scored nine points.
Gurpeet Singh led the Honkers with 17 points and freshman Monta Easter scored 11 points.
The Inderkum junior varsity team lost 72-56 to Yuba City.
Inderkum plays at Woodland High School on Tuesday, Jan. 15 and will host Thursday, Jan. 17 against River Valley High School.
Natomas High boys basketball: The Nighthawks (1-14, 0-1 TCC) lost to Woodland (4-13, 1-0 TCC) 62-44 at home Thursday night.
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