AVON — For being Avon’s senior night, it was a sophomore who stole the show.
Austin Shelton scored a career and game-high 27 points on 11-for-14 shooting, leading the Orioles to an 81-56 Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory over the McCutcheon Mavericks last night.
Shelton’s 12 first quarter points served as the catalyst for Avon’s efficient offensive attack of a season-high 81 points. The Orioles assisted on 21-of-33 shots while shooting 60 percent from the field and 47 percent from beyond the arc.
“We shot it well,” Avon coach Jason Young said. “I thought we moved the basketball pretty well, we screened fairly well but we made some shots.”
McCutcheon started the game in a 2-3 zone and Shelton made them pay with two of his five 3-pointers in the first quarter.
“We knew they were going to come out in a zone from the very beginning,” Shelton said. “I’m a shooter and I like to shoot and if you get me going early I’m going to make a lot.”
But the three Avon seniors made their presence felt as well.
University of Notre Dame recruit Austin Burgett contributed 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Lance Magee scored nine of his 11 points in the first half as the Orioles led 44-26 at halftime. The 5-foot-11 point guard also added four assists and four steals. Bryan Decker then added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Young has gotten accustomed to the solid play of his three seniors this season.
“They were very good again tonight. It was one of those nights that you build up a big lead and sometimes players go out and try and get their own and our seniors didn’t do that, they aren’t that type of players,” Young said. “They stepped up and made plays and were excited as anybody to see our sophomores stepping up and hitting big threes.”
Besides Shelton, notable sophomores were Carter van Wanzeele and Connor Funkhouser off the bench. Van Wanzeele poured in 11 points, including three 3-pointers while Funkhouser added seven points and eight rebounds.
For the sophomores to shine on a night focused on the seniors showed why Avon has a bright future ahead, especially with Shelton.
“He’s very capable of knocking down shots. He handles the ball well, he’s very quick and he’s a good basketball player for us,” Young said. “He has the potential to be very, very good and we’re glad we’ve got him.”
Avon led by as many as 33 points against McCutcheon as they snapped a two-game losing streak.
“We needed to get a win tonight,” Young said. “We lost two games in a row after really playing well for a stretch there through January and early February. It was important for us to get a win tonight.”
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