By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Hamilton Southeastern had a tough assignment on Tuesday, as the Royals hosted Class 4A No. 3 Lawrence North in their Senior Night game.
While Southeastern battled throughout the game, the Wildcats’ blistering shooting led them to a 68-42 victory. Lawrence North had four players in double figures in the game.
“Tonight wasn’t our night,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “I guess I’d rather have it happen now than next week.”
The tone was set early when LN’s CJ Gunn hit a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game. Southeastern’s Vinny Buccilla tied the game with his own triple, but the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run and steadily increased their lead from there.
The first quarter ended where it began, with Gunn making a 3 to give Lawrence North a 19-10 lead. That basket was the start of a 15-0 run that carried the Wildcats well into the second quarter, giving them a 31-10 lead. Sam Jacobs stopped the run with a layin, but LN promptly scored two more baskets.
The Wildcats led 40-16 at halftime, after shooting 74 percent from the field during the first two quarters.
“They hit some shots from the perimeter early on and they built on that,” said Satterfield. LN finished the game 27-of-40 from the field, at 67.5 percent.
Alex Totton began the second half with a layin for HSE. Lawrence North responded with a 12-0 run, with Gunn and Donnavan McCulley each hitting 3s. The Wildcats led 56-25 after three quarters.
“The biggest thing is we’re trying to work on the things that we need to do as we roll into sectional week,” said Satterfield. “Tonight, we did a few of those things, but a lot of those things we didn’t do. We got to carry over what we’re trying to do and get it done. We’ve got to do a better job of that as we roll into next week. Fortunately, we got another game tomorrow night. We’ll see how we bounce back.”
The Royals battled to the end, and several players came off the bench in the second half and gave good performances. Reph Stevenson went 4-of-4 from the free throw line and Tyler Lacy hit a 3-pointer.
“They got off to a bad start in the JV game, but then they came in and did a lot of good things there in the second half,” said Satterfield.
“Those guys, along with our normal bench guys, they came out there and played with a lot of effort and energy,” said Satterfield. Loudon Sundling scored four points during the fourth quarter, Deion Miles nailed a 3-pointer and Mohammed Awad scored on a putback.
Totton and Buccilla each scored eight points to lead the Southeastern scoring, both also made two 3-pointers. Awad and Stevenson each had four rebounds. John McCall blocked two shots.
Shamar Avance scored 22 points for the Wildcats, with Gunn adding 16 points.
The Royals are 10-10 and finish the regular season tonight at Marion.
LAWRENCE NORTH 68, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 42
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Jason Stutz 0-3 2-2 2 0
Alex Totton 3-7 0-1 8 1
Vinny Buccilla 3-12 0-0 8 2
Sam Jacobs 1-5 0-0 2 1
John McCall 2-3 0-0 4 3
Loudon Sundling 1-4 2-4 4 3
Deion Miles 1-3 0-0 3 0
Mohammed Awad 2-2 0-1 4 0
Josh Jones 0-0 0-2 0 0
Reph Stevenson 0-1 4-4 4 1
Tyler Lacy 1-4 0-0 3 0
Totals 14-44 8-14 42 11
Score by Quarters
Lawrence North 19 21 16 12 – 68
Southeastern 10 6 9 17 – 42
Southeastern 3-point shooting (6-20) Totton 2-6, Buccilla 2-6, Miles 1-3, Lacy 1-3, Sundling 0-1, Stutz 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (20) Awad 4, Stevenson 4, Sundling 3, Buccilla 2, Miles 1, Totton 1, Jacobs 1, McCall 1, team 3.