By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
There is no such thing as momentum in a Mudsock game.
There certainly wasn’t in Friday’s Hamilton Southeastern-Fishers boys basketball game, which took place at the Royals’ gym. Southeastern, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, appeared to have pulled away twice during the second half, but the Tigers clawed their way back both times.
Finally, the Royals escaped with a 42-38 victory. The victory keeps Southeastern unbeaten for the season at 6-0. Fishers is now 2-4.
“We’ve played a challenging schedule,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “We have to with our conference and with our sectional. We’ve got to do that and guys got to be ready to step up. We know that we’re going to go through ups and downs throughout the year with as young as we are.”
There were ups and downs in the first quarter, for sure. Aaron Etherington opened things up for the Royals with a 3-point basket, then Fishers took the lead when Willie Jackson scored on a putback and Jeremy Szilagyi drained a 3.
The Tigers led 7-5 before Etherington pushed HSE back up 9-7 with a pair of baskets. But a Jordan Jones layin finished the quarter, and got Fishers back to even at 9-9.
“It was crazy,” said Etherington. “It was really fun. It was really loud and it’s just fun being able to play in front of all those people.”
Jackson made two steals in the first half that led to baskets, and his second-quarter takeaway got back in the hands of Szilagyi, who nailed another 3. That put Fishers ahead 14-12.
Then it was Noah Smith time. The Royals junior took over in the later minutes of the period, scoring six straight points on three baskets, the last of which was a buzzer-beater that gave HSE an 18-14 halftime lead.
The third quarter opened with Brendhan Russom making a layin to get Fishers within 18-16. But Southeastern swung the game in their favor quickly with back-to-back 3-pointers by Etherington and Nick Bowman. Those long-range shots gave HSE a 24-16 lead.
Undaunted, Fishers pushed back, making a 6-0 run to get within 24-22. Terry Hicks helped out with a pair of baskets and Jones scored on a layin.
“You play one possession at a time and I thought we did a good job of not getting emotional when they went up eight,” said Tigers coach Matt Moore. “We turned them over, we were able to convert a little bit. We did a much better job when we’d attack the paint, making that extra pass.
“But we left too many shots out there. We had a ton of shots in the lane that we just didn’t convert that put us over the top.”
The third quarter ended on a basket by the Royals’ Chaz Birchfield, which made the score 28-24. The Tigers got to within 30-29 with 5:17 left in the fourth, but then Southeastern took off on an 8-1 run.
Etherington started things with a layin. Birchfield made two free throws with 3:37 left, then two more at the 3:06 mark. The run ended in dramatic fashion as Mabor Majak made a two-handed dunk – his only points of the game, but they certainly counted. Southeastern was up 38-30 after that.
The Tigers made one more 6-0 run to cut HSE’s lead to 38-36. Josiah Matthews hit a 3-pointer to begin the run, then a free throw by Jones and two more by Jackson put Fishers in striking distance with 27.1 seconds left. But the Royals were able to hang on, with Birchfield’s putback with around 10 seconds left essentially sealing the game.
“Our guys keep battling through,” said Satterfield. “They’re playing together and staying together, even through the challenging times and we’re finding ways to win.”
Southeastern’s Etherington led all scorers with 17 points, while Birchfield added 10 points and pulled seven rebounds. Bowman dished out six assists, while Etherington and Majak both blocked two shots.
Szilagyi scored eight points to lead Fishers, and also made five steals. Jackson and Russom both had five rebounds and Hicks made four steals.
The Royals will play another home game on Wednesday, taking on Pendleton Heights. Fishers is back on the road Thursday, traveling to Muncie Central.
ABOVE: The Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball team held off Fishers 42-38 to win the annual Mudsock game. The Royals are pictured here with Stan Clark, who is representing the Clark family, the sponsors of the Mudsock Trophy.
BELOW: Fishers’ Terry Hicks takes the ball up to the basket while being guarded by Hamilton Southeastern’s Chaz Birchfield during the Mudsock game Friday. (Kirk Green)
