By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Fishers proved it could play with the big guys – literally – on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers took on Ben Davis and led for most of the game, before the Giants’ big men took over in the second half and powered their way to a 76-71 win. The loss dropped Fishers to 0-2 on the season, but coach Matt Moore said he didn’t want his players to get caught up in records.
“We just have to continue to improve and get better,” said Moore. “And I think defensively, we’ve seen some things that have given us trouble in these first two games that we can address and we can make changes and improvements on.”
Ben Davis ran out to an 11-0 lead to begin the game, with the Tigers finally getting on the board when freshman Jeffrey Simmons hit a layin with 4:31 in the first quarter. That opened the floodgates for Fishers, who cut the Giants’ lead to 15-14 by the end of the period. Alex Szilagyi scored five points, Willie Jackson made two baskets and Terry Hicks hit a 3-pointer.
The Tigers then jumped ahead to start the second quarter when Jackson scored off a steal. That put Fishers ahead 16-15 and it would not trail again until the fourth quarter. Jackson scored eight points in the second period, including a 3. Luke Hernandez came off the bench to hit two 3s late in the quarter, and Josiah Matthews’ 3 pushed the Tigers ahead 33-25 at halftime.
“I think Luke has found what he does for us, and in that game in particular, with his ability to shoot it,” said Moore. “You get the right matchup, he’s just got to catch it and let it go. And I was proud of him to come in in that opportunity and take advantage of it and we definitely need more guys to continue to do that.”
Fishers stayed in front for the entire third quarter, despite Ben Davis starting to make a move. Duwand Jones, a huge 6-foot-9 center, made his presence known with 13 points in the third. His back-to-back layins cut the Tigers’ lead to 46-45, then a dunk had the Giants within 48-47. But Fishers finished the quarter with two free throws from Jackson, and a Hernandez jumper kept the Tigers ahead 52-47 after three.
Simmons’ layin got Fishers ahead 56-49 early in the fourth. But then Ben Davis’ other talented big man, 6-foot-5 Jalen Windham, got going. He hit a 3-pointer and a jumper to cut Fishers’ lead to 56-54. Szilagyi and Matthews both hit 3s, and a Jackson layin kept the Tigers up 66-62 with three and a half minutes left.
The Giants’ Jamari London made a layin to slice Fishers’ lead to 66-64, then a Kai Steinman 3 put Ben Davis back on top. Windham was then fouled while taking a 3-point shot, and he made all three free throws to move the Giants ahead 70-66. Ben Davis remained in front for good, despite one more 3-pointer from Hernandez.
Windham finished the game with 28 points, while Jones scored 26.
“The ball finds those guys when it’s time to win,” said Moore. “Credit to those guys, they made plays down the stretch. It’s an exciting game to be part of, it’s a game that we’ve not often been in where we’ve led a majority of the way after the slow start.
“But I was proud of guys. I thought we shot the ball well, I thought our shot selection was good. We hit our free throws, we were 14-for-14 from the line, only had six turnovers. So we did enough to be in position, but we just got to find those ways to get stops down the stretch to stretch it out our way.”
Jackson scored 25 points for Fishers, with Szilagyi adding 12. Matthews and Hernandez both scored 11 points, and each made three 3-pointers.
The Tigers host Muncie Central on Tuesday.
Ben Davis 76, Fishers 71
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Josiah Matthews 4 0-0 11 1
Willie Jackson 8 8-8 25 4
Justin Long 1 0-0 3 4
Alex Szilagyi 2 6-6 12 2
Jeffrey Simmons 2 0-0 4 1
Geoffrey Brown 0 0-0 0 1
Terry Hicks 2 0-0 5 4
Emmanuel Davis 0 0-0 0 0
Luke Hernandez 4 0-0 11 0
Totals 23 14-14 71 17
Score by Quarters
Ben Davis 15 10 22 29 – 76
Fishers 14 19 19 19 – 71
Fishers 3-pointers (11) Matthews 3, Hernandez 3, Szilagyi 2, Jackson 1, Long 1, Hicks 1.