The REPORTER
The IHSAA boys basketball sectional semifinals take place Friday, and the most competitive sectional in the state is arguably Class 4A Sectional 8 at Noblesville.
Friday’s slate of games at The Mill is incredible. The night opens at 6 p.m. with the No. 2-ranked host Millers taking on No. 3 Westfield. After that, No. 1 Fishers plays Hamilton Southeastern in yet another Mudsock rivalry match-up.
If you got tickets for that evening’s games: good for you! The Fishers athletic department posted on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday evening that the games are sold out, so no tickets will be sold at the door. You can watch the games on Hamilton County TV; its website is hctv1.com.
Noblesville hosted the Shamrocks on Jan. 17 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game. Westfield won 58-54. That contest was back and forth for the first half; the Millers led 28-22 early in the third quarter before the ‘Rocks used a 15-6 run to take control of the game in the fourth.
Noblesville coach Scott McClelland said after that game that Westfield “won the toughness battles.” He reiterated that word after the Millers won their sectional opener Tuesday over Zionsville 67-49.
“When you just talk about sheer toughness, if Westfield is not it, they’re certainly in the top three of who we’ve played,” said McClelland. “That was my message: the tougher team will win Friday night.”
Noblesville is tough too, with a 21-2 record. Senior Aaron Fine leads the Millers scoring with 18.1 points per game and hands out 3.6 assists per contest. Another senior, Hunter Walston also scores in double digits with 12.4 points and is the top rebounder at 5.6 per game and leads in steals with 2.4. Sophomore Justin Curry adds 9.6 points per contest.
The Shamrocks are 19-2 and finished the regular season last Thursday with a 72-46 home victory over Pike. Westfield’s two leading scorers are seniors Nic Book and Trey Buchanan. Book has a 14.0-point per game average and is by far first in rebounds with 7.7. Buchanan scores at a 13.9 clip and leads in assists with 2.7 per game. Junior Durante Morton also has solid rebounding numbers, with 4.0 per game.
Also a sellout
Hamilton Southeastern hosted Fishers in the regular-season Mudsock game, which was also a sellout. The Royals kept pace with Fishers during the first three quarters before an 8-0 run put the Tigers ahead 57-47. Fishers eventually got the win 64-57.
The Tigers are 23-1 and beat Carmel 54-41 Tuesday in their sectional first-round game. The Greyhounds handed Fishers its only loss of the season, so the Tigers were laser focused on that game before thinking anything about the semifinals, as Fishers coach Garrett Winegar admitted afterwards. Now, both the Tigers and Southeastern are focused on Friday.
Senior Keenan Garner has been a true leader for Fishers, with 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Garner also averages 3.8 assists, including six during the Tigers’ Tuesday win.
Junior JonAnthony Hall adds 11.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Freshman Cooper Zachary is the leader in assists with 4.0 per game and steals with 2.0 per contest.
The Royals are 15-9 and received votes in the final IBCA one-class poll this week. Southeastern had a tough slate of games to finish the regular season, dropping their finale to North Central 66-47 last Thursday.
Three players score in double figures for the Royals. Senior Donovan Hamilton leads with 14.4 points and also has the most rebounds (6.3) and assists 2.5. Senior Nathaniel Orr contributes 11.0 points and 4.9 rebounds, while junior Braeden Totten is scoring 10.3 points per contest. Senior Michael Griffith leads the rebounds with 5.3. Hamilton and Orr each get 1.6 steals per game.