SHADYSIDE — “It feels great.”

Those were the words of Shane Stephens after Barnesville’s rookie head coach pocketed his first career win. Stephens’ cherished victory came in the form of a hard-fought 53-50 nod over Shadyside at the Tigers’ Den Tuesday night.

“It is something that I will never forget,” he added. “What makes it extra special is doing it with this group of guys. It is a great bunch to coach.”

The Shamrocks are now 1-1 after dropping their opener against Harrison Central.

The Tigers, meanwhile, also ended the night at 1-1. The Orange downed Buckeye Local in their debut.

The contest, played in front of a large crowd, was nip-and-tuck throughout with the largest lead being six.

After Duker Castello drained two free throws, Barnesville found itself on top, 47-44, with 4:22 to play. Shadyside ace Ben Wach meshed two free throws just 16 seconds later to pare the deficit to one.

The two teams traded missed shots and turnovers before Barnesville’s Taison Starr goaled at the 2:15 mark, pushing the Red & Green lead back to three. Shadyside climbed back to within one with 1:53 remaining on the strength of two Wach free throws.

Barnesville proceeded to turn the ball over on two straight possessions. Shadyside, however, could not take advantage as it missed from the floor before committing a turnover with 59 seconds remaining.

The Shamrocks subsequently went into delay mode.

Starr was fouled with 29 seconds showing and converted a free throw for a 50-48 lead. He missed the second attempt but teammate Casey Carpenter hauled in the rebound and was immediately fouled. He made one of two for a three-point Shamrock edge.

Wach once again came through for the hosts with a driving layup with eight seconds left, making it a 51-50 lighting.

Castello was fouled with 3.2 seconds left. He calmly sank both freebies to push the Red & Green edge back to three. Shadyside managed to get a half-court shot off prior to the buzzer but it fell awry.

“I was really happy how we executed down the stretch,” Stephens said. “We took care of the ball and made our free throws. That was key.

“Our depth was big. We can play 10 or 11 guys. Everyone played a role in this win,” he added. “This group has great camaraderie. They pull for each other.”

Barnesville did place eight players in the scoring column.

Senior Luke Detling led the well-balanced winners with 11 points while Asa Geilinger and Ryker Willis evenly divided 18 counters. Starr chipped in with eight tallies.

Wach took game-scoring honors via his 20-point showing. Nathan Booth performed well, ending with 15 markers.

“We had our chances,” veteran Shadyside hoop boss Ed Andes said. “We didn’t shoot well. We had a lot of good looks.

“We were five-of-23 from three-point range. We have to be better than that,” added the former Tiger hoop great. “Give Barnesville credit. They made the plays at crunch time.”

Barnesville led 13-11 after one quarter and 27-26 at halftime. Booth had 13 points in the opening half for the hosts. Barnesville maintained its slim lead at 41-40 entering the climactic fourth frame.

The Shamrocks committed just eight turnovers on the night while Shadyside was charted with 12 miscues.

Both teams return to action Friday in Monroe County. Barnesville visits Monroe Central while the Tigers take on River.