By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – No matter who is ranked what coming into a Mudsock game, it’s going to be close.
Fishers is the No. 1-ranked boys basketball in Class 4A and was unbeaten coming into Friday’s contest, which took place this year at Hamilton Southeastern in front of a sold-out crowd. The Royals gave the Tigers a battle for the full 32 minutes before Fishers prevailed 64-57, claiming the Mudsock trophy and staying perfect for the season at 6-0.
It was a true team victory, with all nine players that took to the floor for the Tigers scoring at least two points.
“HSE did a great job and had a good game plan,” said Fishers coach Garrett Winegar. “We struggled, obviously. But for them to find a way to win, for nine guys to give minutes and make plays, that’s what it’s all about.”
Southeastern scored the game’s first four points, with Braeden Totten making a layin and Kam Anthony putting down a dunk. The Tigers ran off nine consecutive points: Keenan Garner got Fishers’ first basket at the 4:12 mark of the game, then scored again. Justin Kirby hit a 3-pointer and Cooper Zachary scored off a steal.
The Royals led 14-13 in the final seconds of the quarter, but the Tigers’ Millen McCartney sent a throw from just beyond the half-court line that went in. Fishers thus led 16-14 going into the second period.
Fishers’ Jason Gardner Jr. had nine points for the Tigers; the team had all
nine players score. Pictured at left is Southeastern’s Deion Miles. (Julie Brown)
JonAnthony Hall scored for the Tigers to begin the second quarter. Southeastern quickly got back in front when Michael Griffith made an and-1, then Jack Jacobs came off the bench to hit a 3. Fishers later used a 6-0 run to get ahead 26-22, with baskets from Garner, Jason Gardner Jr. and Hall.
That was the story of the game, as both teams used little spurts throughout to either move ahead or erase their opponent’s lead. The Tigers led 40-35 at halftime, but the Royals got back to 42-42 when Jacobs made a three-point play.
Layins from Parker Perdue and Garner got Fishers up 49-44 after three quarters. Nate Orr’s layin got HSE within 49-47, but the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to get ahead by 57-47, the largest lead of the game, with 3:01 left. Taden Metzger sandwiched two 3s between Garner’s layin.
Fishers was able to stay at least a few points in front for those remaining three minutes. Orr’s two free throws got the Royals within 61-57 with 27.9 seconds left, but Metzger made a pair of foul shots seconds later to clinch the game.
“A lot of these guys got playing time last year, so they’ve been in these moments,” said Winegar. “They’ve been in tough games. They’ve been in games that came down to the wire.”
Winegar said that last season, nine of Fishers’ 12 losses were one-possession games in the last three minutes and “we couldn’t find a way to win those games. This year, we’re finding ways to win those games.”
Hamilton Southeastern’s Nate Orr scored 18 points. (Julie Brown)
Garner scored 14 points, while Metzger made three 3s on his way to 12 points. Garner collected eight rebounds and made two blocked shots, with Hall getting seven rebounds and Kirby pulling five. Zachary had four assists.
Orr had 18 points for Southeastern and Griffith scored 11. Griffith led the rebounds with seven, followed by Donovan Hamilton with six and Orr with five. Hamilton and Orr both made four assists, and Hamilton had two blocks.
“I was happy with our effort,” said Royals coach John Ashworth. “I thought we set the tone early, but obviously some mistakes here and there add up over the course of the game. You can’t make mistakes against good basketball teams.”
The game was also a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game, and Fishers is now 2-0 in the conference. The Tigers are back in action next Friday at Center Grove. Southeastern is 0-2 in HCC play and 2-3 overall, and hosts Christel House Academy next Friday.
FISHERS 64, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 57
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Taden Metzger 3-5 3-4 12 4
Millen McCartney 1-2 0-0 3 3
Cooper Zachary 2-3 0-0 5 3
JonAnthony Hall 3-6 0-0 6 1
Keenan Garner 7-16 0-4 14 1
Justin Kirby 2-5 2-4 7 2
Nathan Baker 1-1 0-0 2 1
Jason Gardner Jr. 3-7 3-4 9 0
Parker Perdue 3-3 0-0 6 2
Totals 25-48 8-16 64 17
Fishers 3-point shooting (6-13) Metzger 3-5, McCartney 1-2, Zachary 1-2, Kirby 1-2, Hall 0-1, Garner 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (28) Garner 8, Hall 7, Kirby 5, Zachary 2, Gardner 2, Baker 1, team 3.
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Donovan Hamilton 3-10 1-4 8 3
Nate Orr 7-13 4-5 18 2
Braeden Totten 1-7 2-3 4 4
Michael Griffith 4-7 3-4 11 2
Kam Anthony 2-4 0-0 4 2
Jack Jacobs 2-3 1-1 6 0
Deion Miles 0-0 0-0 0 1
Maverick Young 2-2 0-0 6 3
Totals 21-46 11-17 57 17
Southeastern 3-point shooting (4-15) Young 2-2, Hamilton 1-4, Jacobs 1-2, Orr 0-3, Totten 0-3, Griffith 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (27) Griffith 7, Hamilton 6, Orr 5, Anthony 4, Totten 3, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Fishers 16 24 9 15 – 64
Southeastern 14 21 9 13 – 57