Regional preview, 4A at Frankfort

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

No. 1 Fishers Tigers (27-0) vs. Harrison Raiders (19-6)

Case Arena in Frankfort is the regional site for Fishers and Harrison tomorrow night. The top-ranked Tigers will play the nightcap at 7 p.m., following a Class 1A regional meeting between No. 3 Clinton Prairie (23-2) and Lafayette Central Catholic (12-14)

Fishers and the Raiders have met eight times previously between 2006 and 2014 when Harrison was a member of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. The Tigers hold a 6-2 record in those HCC games, the last on Feb. 28, 2014, 79-46. This will be their first meeting in the state tournament.

Fishers outlasted No. 8 Noblesville in the Sectional 8 championship last Saturday at Carmel, 55-46, to claim just their second sectional crown in program history.

The Tigers are aiming for their second straight regional trophy. They won the regional last season over Kokomo at the New Castle Fieldhouse, 66-52. Fishers then marched all the way to the state finals in 2024, defeating Ben Davis, 65-56 in the championship game.

Head coach Garrett Winegar is 105-23 in his fifth season at Fishers and 123-29 overall, going 18-6 at Warren Central in 2019-20.

Dating back to last season, Fishers is on a 40-game winning streak, the longest in the state currently. Overall, they’ve won 56 of 57 with just one mid-season loss at Carmel last season.

The Tigers continued their win streak into the season and amped up their schedule. Taking a 24-0 regular season record into the tournament, Fishers had quality wins over Ben Davis, Mount Vernon, Noblesville (twice), Warsaw, Greenfield-Central, Fort Wayne Wayne, Brownsburg, South Bend Riley, Avon, Westfield (twice), Peoria Manual (Ill.), Center Grove, Lawrence North and North Central.

Sophomore Jason Gardner, Jr. is the leading scorer at 14.6 points and dishes out 5.6 assists per contest. Senior Justin Kirby has both started and come off the bench to score 12.6, grab four boards and 2.3 assists. Sophomore Cooper Zachary stuffs his stat line with 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.7 steals. Zachary also shoots a scorching 50 percent from three-point range (72-for-144) and 85 percent at the foul line (40 of 47).

High-flying senior Stanford football commit JonAnthony Hall is the fourth Tiger that scores double figures at 10.2 points. Hall also grabs 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Fellow senior Millen McCartney scores 9.3 and is another lethal outside shooter, making 63 of 146 for 43 percent. Senior forward Nathan Baker starts and is a solid contributor with 7.7 points and four boards.

Harrison ended its drought of 25 years without a sectional championship. The Raiders had not won a sectional since 1999. Last Saturday, they surprised the Kokomo Wildkats at Memorial Gym in Kokomo, 70-63.

Harrison just won its fifth sectional championship in program history. Their only regional title was in 1997, the final season of single-class basketball. The Raiders lost in the semi-state semifinals at Mackey Arena at Purdue University to eventual state finalist La Porte, 75-64.

Head coach Mark Rinehart is 187-146 in his 14th season leading the Raiders.

Harrison began the season 5-1, losing in their fourth game at Lafayette Jeff in OT, 48-42. Going 3-2 over the next five, the Raiders notched a six-game winning streak, their longest of the season from late Dec. to late Jan. before the home stretch of the regular season. February saw Harrison go 5-3 heading into sectional play at Kokomo.

They have key wins over Lafayette Jefferson (twice), McCutcheon (twice), Lake Central, Kokomo (twice), Merrillville and Lafayette Central Catholic.

The Raiders drew the bye and knocked out Lafayette Jeff in the semifinal (55-51) and host Kokomo (70-63) in the championship.

Harrison is a senior laden group that’s looking to make a statement. Malachi King (senior) leads all scorers in this regional matchup with 18.7 per game, along with 6.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Ray Gibson (senior) is at 14.1 and 3.4 assists, Reid Smith (senior) is the third double-digit scorer with 13.2 points and 3.2 assists.

Seniors Ben Slate (4.2) and Carson Cain (3.8), along with juniors Brady Henchon (2.7) and Quinn Clary (2.5) are all key contributors.

Other regional matchups in 4A north that are potential semi-state opponents are: Homestead (21-5) vs. Carroll (Fort Wayne) (11-15) at Logansport’s Berry Bowl, Portage (20-5) and Crown Point (21-2) battle at the Wolves’ Den at Michigan City, South Bend Riley (21-4) vs. Warsaw (25-4) meet up at The Great Western Forum at South Bend Washington.