Jake's Take: Sellout crowd for Lex-Shelby sure made for a special atmosphere

LEXINGTON — Before Week 5 of the 2023 high school football season, my dad asked me a question.

It has no earthly business being asked at the time, but usually, whatever comes to his mind, he will ask anyway.

The question was, "When does Shelby and Lexington play this year?" Thinking he meant football, I told him the game already happened in Week 2 of the season. Quickly realizing he was talking about basketball, it being our favorite sport and we usually go to the big games together, I re-answered his question with Dec. 30. I already knew the date because I had already written down the big games of the year I wanted to cover. It wasn't even halfway into football season yet.

MASSIVE WIN: Fogle, Lexington out-duels Bruskotter, Shelby in battle of Richland County's best

On Saturday night, I quickly realized that many others had the same mindset as me back in mid-September. The Dec. 30 meeting between two teams with high hopes for a Division II district championship played in front of a sellout crowd of more than 2,000 people and it was like the glory days of basketball were back.

The crowd was electric. There was a buzz all week long about the game. The Local at 97 was packed for lunch with people heading to the game. The doors opened at 2:45 p.m. for the freshmen game and there were already cars in the parking lot waiting to get in.

More than 1,000 presale tickets were sold during the week of the game. Mix that with the number of season tickets and reserved seating tickets Lexington sold before the season to its fans and there were only about 400 spots left for those wanting to walk in and buy a ticket.

And those quickly disappeared. Not a seat was open. There were people standing on the balcony and along the baselines. People were packed in like sardines.

And it was absolutely glorious.

“It was amazing,” Lexington sophomore Brayden Fogle said. “The best we have had all year and maybe the best I have ever played in and I have played a lot of basketball games.”

The student sections were in prime form. Shelby's Red Rage handed out a student section scouting report and an outline of cheers they had lined up for certain situations. The students studied those more than they had studied for any math test throughout the school year.

Lexington's Purple Haze was decked out in all white and as loud as it had been all season long. The atmosphere as the ball was sent up for the tip off was enough to leave goosebumps running up your arms.

“I loved it,” Lexington's Dantrell Hughes said. “It was the biggest game I have been in. To play in front of a sellout crowd, I loved it. It was great to see the fans get hyped with every shot we made.”

Hughes made the biggest shot of the night putting the Minutemen ahead 59-57 with less than 19 seconds left to play eventually leading to a 61-57 win sending the student section into a frenzy.

It was like the old days again. Growing up in Plymouth, I would regularly attend the Shelby/Willard rivalry when I was a kid and those games were something else and ones that likely got me hooked on the sport. Saturday night was a lot like that.

“To be out there in front of 2,000 fans and seeing people standing in aisle ways and up against the wall, it gives you that tournament atmosphere,” Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said. “You know, the way things used to be. We knew it was a big game. We both wanted it.”

Last year, these two teams were subjects of two sellout crowds. First, they played a regular-season game on Valentine's Day that packed Shelby's gym to capacity. Then, the legendary district semifinal game where there wasn't enough standing room for those who wanted to get a glimpse of the game.

It makes me wish more games could be like that. When I attended games as a kid, it wouldn't be a normal night if there wasn't a line at the door waiting to get in. It wouldn't be normal if there weren't people stopping in during school to buy a presale ticket just so they could be one of those in attendance.

Saturday night brought back those great feelings for me and coach Hamilton.

“We knew when ticket sales were sold online and (athletic director Jeff) Eichorn was talking about the potential of a sellout that it was going to be a fun atmosphere,” Hamilton said. “Last year, it was a big game on Valentine’s Day and even after the rematch in the district tournament, we knew this one was going to be well attended. Shelby always brings a great crowd and is supported by its fans and we have had great support at home this year. That was the best crowd my freshman team has played in front of in years.”

The junior varsity game was packed too and for good reason as Shelby won it on a buzzer-beater layup on a drive the length of the court with just over four seconds remaining.

The varsity game didn't disappoint either. It saw Shelby's Alex Bruskotter score 31 points and add 13 rebounds and also saw Fogle go for 21 and nine.

But most of all, it exposed the players to a tournament-like atmosphere and one Shelby coach Greg Gallaway will not let his players take it for granted, because nowadays, sellout crowds don't happen very often.

“It was great,” Gallaway said. “For our county to have something like this is amazing. One thing we reiterated across our team was that we need to be thankful for this because I have watched basketball in this area for a lot of years and there haven’t been many games like this. It was cool to be a part of. We obviously wish we would have come out on top, but we will use this to grow as a team.”

It is something that should happen more and more in our great county. High school basketball in this area is something to be proud of. Right now, we have two undefeated boys teams and six with winning records. We have three girls teams with winning records and many more that have some massive games left on the schedule.

I long for the days when I can recall those memories of walking up to the entrance of the gym and having to wait outside for the doors to open for the magic that was about the happen inside. High school basketball in Richland County is special and I hope everyone sees the kind of impact they can have by simply coming out to the gym to catch some hoops.

Those in attendance on Saturday night sure made it special.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

X: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Jake's Take: Sellout crowd for Lex-Shelby brought back glory days