By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Hamilton Southeastern picked up its third win in seven days on Friday, beating Noblesville 76-66 in an all-county and Hoosier Crossroads Conference game at the Royals’ gym.
The game was a hard-fought contest and was close in the first half. Southeastern had two big runs in that half, one towards the end of each quarter. The first-period run allowed the Royals to get in front, and the second-period run gave HSE the separation it needed to get its lead into double digits by halftime, and the Royals stayed comfortably in front for the second half.
The Millers scored the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by Noah Harris. Southeastern scored the next five points, breaking the ice with a layin by Alex Totton, then Vinny Buccilla’s 3 put the Royals ahead 5-3.
Noblesville answered with back-to-back triples by E.J. Smith and Luke Almodovar, giving it a 9-5 advantage. But Southeastern was in control for the remainder of the first quarter, scoring 10 straight points to lead 15-9 by the period’s end. Totton scored on back-to-back 3s to get the Royals ahead for good.
The two teams played even for the first part of the second quarter. David Lloyd hit consecutive baskets for the Millers, and Almodovar made another 3. Meanwhile, Southeastern got baskets from Jason Stutz and Sam Jacobs, while Buccilla and John McCall each converted three-point plays for the Royals.
Smith drained a 3 to keep Noblesville within 25-22 midway through the period. That’s when HSE began an 11-0 run, started by a 3-pointer from McCall. He would score seven points in the run, which ended with McCall making two free throws. The Royals led 36-23 at halftime.
“At the end of the first quarter and second quarter, we were able to continue to do the things that we talked about and get that little separation and have a little cushion,” said Southeastern coach Brian Satterfield. During halftime, the Royals talked about making sure they sustained that advantage.
“And I thought we had a good start to the second half as well,” said Satterfield.
Southeastern kept its lead at 10 points or more for all but a few seconds of the second half. In the third quarter, a Buccilla triple put the Royals up 43-28. Buccilla scored nine points in the period, including a 3-pointer to end the third that put Southeastern up 55-36.
“They’re the most physical team, toughest team, in terms of making those winning plays since probably Carmel,” said Noblesville coach John Peckinpaugh. “And we talked about it all week. If we can win the toughness battle against these guys, getting to the floor first for the loose ball, coming up with the big rebounds, doing those things that really they excel in, we would have a chance to win. We just didn’t do it enough.”
McCall opened the fourth quarter with a layin and the Royals had their largest lead of the game at 57-36. Noblesville began to make a run, starting with an early 6-0 stretch. Lloyd scored three of those points on 3-of-4 foul shooting.
Dalton Retzner had a good fourth quarter for HSE, scoring six points. A McCall layin got the Royals back up 67-49. The Millers then went on a 15-5 run to briefly cut the Royals’ lead to 72-64; Josh Durham, Almodovar and Lloyd all hit 3’s during the run, with Lloyd’s triple getting Noblesville within eight with under a minute to go. But Stutz and Totton both hit a pair of free throws during that final minute to keep Southeastern at a solid distance.
Satterfield gave the Millers credit after the game.
“They didn’t quit, they kept fighting,” said Satterfield. “Made a little run at us. We got to shore some things up from what they did to us. But the thing is, our guys keep battling, they keep competing. We had good balance tonight, four guys in double figures. That’s the positive we’re going to keep trying to build on.”
McCall led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Buccilla added 17 points, including three 3s, while Totton and Retzner both scored 12. Retzner also pulled five rebounds. The Royals had 21 assists as a team, with Buccilla dishing out seven, Stutz handing out five and McCall handing out four. Buccilla and Mohammed Awad both had four rebounds.
“That’s the one thing about Mo,” said Satterfield. “Things don’t show up on the stat sheet, but what we love about him is when he gets out there and he hustles and competes and just seems to get his hands on everything. We just love the energy that he always brings.”
Lloyd was Noblesville’s high scorer with 17 points, followed by Smith with 15 and Almodovar with 13, including three 3s. Harris and Preston Roberts both scored nine points.
Lloyd collected six rebounds and Harris had five, with Smith dishing out five assists.
“We’re at a point where we’re playing better basketball than we were in November and December,” said Peckinpaugh. “But we have to figure out how to get to that next level. And I think we’re right there on the verge of doing it. But they’ve got to buy in and believe in what it takes and how you have to practice every day and what that looks like. And we’ll get there. It’s a long season, still, if we stay healthy, knock on wood. I thought we fought. We just didn’t come up with those toughness plays tonight that we needed to win the game.”
The Millers are 1-4 in HCC play and 8-6 overall. Noblesville is scheduled to play at Guerin Catholic tonight.
The Royals improved to 3-2 in the conference and are also 8-6 overall. Their next game is another HCC contest, as Southeastern hosts Franklin Central on Thursday.
“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” said Satterfield. “Are there still things that we still need to improve on? Definitely. But we still got another month before tournament time and hopefully we can continue to work on those things.”
NOBLESVILLE 76, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 66
Noblesville FG FT TP PF
Josh Durham 1-2 0-0 3 5
E.J. Smith 3-10 7-9 15 2
Noah Harris 4-7 0-0 9 1
Luke Almodovar 3-7 4-7 13 4
Preston Roberts 2-5 4-6 9 2
Aaron Fine 0-4 0-0 0 5
David Lloyd 6-12 4-6 17 1
Totals 19-47 19-28 66 20
Noblesville 3-point shooting (9-20) Almodovar 3-6, Smith 2-4, Harris 1-3, Lloyd 1-3, Durham 1-1, Roberts 1-1, Fine 0-2.
Noblesville rebounds (19) Lloyd 6, Harris 5, Durham 3, Roberts 2, Fine 1, Smith 1, Almodovar 1.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Alex Totton 4-9 2-2 12 0
Dalton Retzner 4-5 4-4 12 3
Vinny Buccilla 6-11 2-2 17 5
Sam Jacobs 2-3 0-0 4 4
John McCall 7-11 6-9 21 4
Loudon Sundling 0-0 0-0 0 1
Jason Stutz 2-4 2-3 6 4
Mohammed Awad 0-0 0-0 0 1
Isaac Bowman 2-3 0-0 4 1
Totals 27-46 16-20 76 23
Southeastern 3-point shooting (6-15) Buccilla 3-5, Totton 2-6, McCall 1-1, Stutz 0-1, Bowman 0-1, Jacobs 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (34) McCall 11, Retzner 5, Buccilla 4, Awad 4, Stutz 3, Sundling 2, Jacobs 2, Totton 1, Bowman 1, team 1.
Score by Quarters
Noblesville 9 14 13 30 – 66
Southeastern 15 21 19 21 – 76