Sold-out crowd packs Fishers’ Tiger Den for Mudsock Mayhem
By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Friday night’s Fishers-Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball game was filled with energy, occasional moments of chaos and overwhelming emotion from players, fans and coaches alike.
In other words, it was a typical Mudsock game. This year’s edition was played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Tiger Den, and the home team Fishers prevailed 65-60 to win the Mudsock trophy for the second consecutive year.
Remarkably, the Tigers never trailed in the game. Fishers scored the first five points and held the lead for almost the entire contest, save for a few seconds in the second quarter when the Royals tied it up. At the same time, both teams were on edge for the entire game, as they were each playing with that high energy. Both teams made several scoring runs during the contest as well, making any lead not safe.
“I think in a game like this, you don’t have to do a lot of motivating,” said Tigers coach Garrett Winegar. “They’re excited. It’s a rivalry game, so both teams are going to play hard. That’s never going to change. So, my message was just like, let’s make sure we match their toughness and let’s make sure we are mentally sound. Let’s not let the game become more than a game, right? It’s a big game, obviously. But we got to calm down. We got to play how we always play and play our game.”
JonAnthony Hall scored on a putback and Taden Metzger hit a 3-pointer to get Fishers that initial 5-0 lead. Reph Stevenson broke the ice for Southeastern by draining a 3, and the game was on.
Fishers’ JonAnthony Hall collected 13 rebounds for the Tigers. (Joshua Herd)
The Tigers eventually led 13-5 late in the first quarter, with Keenan Garner scoring six points. Jalen Haralson made a dunk, and hit a couple free throws to give Fishers a 15-6 lead. Stevenson finished the quarter with a buzzer-beating dunk, and that got the Royals within 17-10 to start the second.
The Tigers led 20-14 early in the quarter before Southeastern made a 6-0 run to tie the game for the only time at 20-20. Joe Karwowski made a layin, Stevenson hit two foul shots, and Deion Miles’ layin brought HSE even with Fishers.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Deion Miles had eight assists for the Royals (Joshua Herd)
But the Tigers responded with their own 6-0 run. Haralson made two layins, with a Garner dunk in between. Fishers eventually stretched its lead to 34-25 by halftime, with Garner making two putbacks, and Hall getting one rebound basket.
The Royals got within 36-32 during the first couple minutes of the third quarter; Stevenson helped out with four points. Metzger then put in a 3-pointer, and Zimmer drained his initial 3, and suddenly the Tigers were up 42-32. A three-point play by Grant Haworth made it a 9-0 run.
Southeastern was able to keep pace with Fishers during the latter minutes of the quarter, with Donovan Hamilton scoring five points during that time. As a result, the Tigers led 49-39 going into the fourth quarter. Zimmer started the period by nailing another triple, then seconds later hit another 3 to put Fishers up 55-41.
Garner’s late layin put the Tigers up 64-49 with around 1:20 to go in the game. Southeastern finished the game on a furious 11-1 run, which included five points from Hamilton and four from Stevenson, but Fishers was able to hang on.
“Our message is always keep fighting,” said Royals coach John Ashworth. “I probably called a timeout a little too late. The message to our kids is to keep playing till the whistle blows.”
“That’s just the Mudsock,” said Winegar. “We saw it last year. That’s what I kept telling our guys, like, ‘You got to keep playing. The game’s not over.’” After the Tigers got up by 15, Winegar said he thought his team “kind of took a breath, and then they hit some shots and got some turnovers and made it close.”
Fishers coach Garrett Winegar was fired up during the Mudsock game. (Joshua Herd)
Garner led the way for the Fishers, totaling 18 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. It’s been quite the season for Garner, who had lived in Germany for the past five years before moving to Fishers near the start of the school year.
“It was definitely different,” said Garner. “It was definitely something I’d never experienced before. The energy, I just absolutely loved it.” He also enjoyed seeing “all the fan support” and people going crazy.
Haralson finished with 14 points, Metzger scored 13 and Zimmer’s three 3-pointers totaled nine points. Hall led the rebounds with 13, and both he and Garner blocked two shots.
Hamilton was the Royals’ leading scorer with 22 points, followed by 17 from Stevenson, who led Southeastern’s rebounding with eight. Miles dished out eight assists, Hamilton had four steals and Stevenson made two blocks.
Southeastern’s Donovan Hamilton led all scorers with 22 points. (Joshua Herd)
“It’s just one of those games where we didn’t get off to a good start early,” said Ashworth. “You got to give credit to Fishers and how tough they played. They outworked us and beat us on the boards. And that’s another key factor in the game.”
The Tigers are 4-3 and also picked up their first Hoosier Crossroads Conference win of the season with this victory, making them 1-1 in the league. Fishers’ next game is also at home, as it takes on Fort Wayne Carroll Thursday.
The Royals are 1-1 in HCC play and 2-2 overall. They host Brebeuf Jesuit this afternoon.
FISHERS 65, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 60
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Donovan Hamilton 8-16 3-5 22 2
Reph Stevenson 6-9 4-4 17 1
Deion Miles 1-9 1-2 3 2
Joe Karwowski 1-3 2-2 4 1
Eli Robinson 1-4 2-3 5 3
Myles Holman 1-2 1-2 3 2
Braeden Totten 0-0 0-0 0 0
Michael Griffith 3-6 0-1 6 2
Totals 21-49 13-19 60 13
Southeastern 3-point shooting (5-15) Hamilton 3-7, Robinson 1-2, Stevenson 1-1, Karwowski 0-2, Miles 0-1, Holman, 0-1, Griffith 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (26) Stevenson 8, Hamilton 4, Robinson 4, Karwowski 2, Miles 1, Holman 1, Griffith 1, team 5.
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Taden Metzger 4-12 3-4 13 1
Jalen Haralson 5-11 4-7 14 4
Aiden Zimmer 3-3 0-0 9 5
JonAnthony Hall 3-9 0-1 6 3
Keenan Garner 9-12 0-3 18 2
Millen McCartney 1-3 0-0 2 0
Parker Perdue 0-2 0-0 0 2
Grant Haworth 1-2 1-1 3 1
Totals 26-54 8-16 65 18
Fishers 3-point shooting (5-14) Zimmer 3-3, Metzger 2-8, Haralson 0-2, MCartney 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (37) Hall 13, Garner 11, Metzger 3, Haralson 3, Perdue 3, McCartney 1, team 3.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 10 15 14 21 – 60
Fishers 17 17 15 16 – 65