Boys basketball sectionals get underway on Tuesday, and a Hamilton County team will be playing at each of the five sites involving local teams – and all of the games are re-matches
The county’s Class 4A schools are playing at Noblesville this year for Sectional 8. The first game, which tips off at 6 p.m., will see Fishers take on Zionsville in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference re-match of a contest that took place less than two weeks ago.
The Tigers played at the Eagles’ gym and were winners, 58-39. There is, of course, a difference between the regular season and the sectional and Fishers coach Matt Moore is aware of that.
“Sectional’s always different,” said Moore after the Tigers beat North Central last Tuesday in their regular-season finale. “The stakes are higher now, and there’s a lot more on the line. The first game, I thought we did some good things, and they’re going to adjust and we need to be ready to combat that.”
Fishers is 18-6 for the season, while Zionsville is 15-9.
In the second Tuesday game, Hamilton Southeastern will play Carmel. The two teams played each other at the Royals’ gym on Feb. 14, with Southeastern coming back from a 13-point deficit to beat the Greyhounds 62-61.
The Royals are 17-5 for the season and riding a 13-game win streak, which also includes wins over Brownsburg and Lawrence North to finish the season. Carmel is 15-7 and coming off a big win over Class 4A No. 5 Crispus Attucks.
“The team’s demeanor has been great,” said Southeastern coach Brian Satterfield. “They go to practice every day trying to improve and get better.”
Hamilton Heights travels to New Castle to play the Trojans in Class 3A Sectional 24 action. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. The Huskies played New Castle in their second game of the season on Dec. 6, winning 67-59. Heights is 14-8 while the Trojans are 10-12.
Down at 3A Sectional 27 at Shortridge, Guerin Catholic plays its Circle City Conference rival Brebeuf Jesuit in the second game, set for 7:30 p.m. The Braves beat the Golden Eagles 54-47 in their meeting on Jan. 24. Guerin Catholic comes into the game 15-7, while Brebeuf is 15-6.
Sheridan heads east to 2A Sectional 39 at Blackford to play Tipton in a 6 p.m. start. This is another re-match, as the Blackhawks hosted the Blue Devils on Dec. 14, with Tipton winning 90-49. Sheridan is 5-17 and the Blue Devils are 17-5.
University is trying Class 2A for the first time, playing at Sectional 42. The sectional has been moved to Scecina from Heritage Christian.
As a result, the Trailblazers are now playing the sectional host Crusaders on Tuesday, with a 7 p.m. tipoff. University played at Scecina on Feb. 1, winning 53-35. The ‘Blazers picked up their 20th win of the season Thursday in a win over Bishop Chatard, improving to 20-4. The Crusaders are 7-15.
