Hamilton Southeastern nearly came all the way back against Class 3A No. 2 New Castle Tuesday before the Trojans closed out a 68-61 win over the visiting Royals.
New Castle led 30-19 at halftime and 49-34 after three quarters. Class 4A No. 6 Southeastern made a push in the fourth period, scoring 27 points, but the Trojans were able to hang on for the win.
Aaron Etherington scored 19 points to lead the Royals, with Chaz Birchfield contributing 15 points and Chris Grubbs adding 11. Etherington pulled seven rebounds, while Birchfield and Mabor Majak each collected six. Grubbs had five rebounds. Nick Bowman handed out four assists.
Southeastern is 16-3 and hosts 4A No. 9 Carmel on Friday.
New Castle 68, Southeastern 61
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Nick Bowman 1-6 0-0 3 5
Chaz Birchfield 6-11 3-3 15 1
Aaron Etherington 6-8 5-6 19 3
Kole Hornbuckle 0-0 0-0 0 4
Noah Smith 3-9 1-2 7 3
Chris Grubbs 4-10 3-5 11 3
Bradley Beemon 0-0 0-0 0 0
Mabor Majak 3-7 0-0 6 1
Totals 23-51 12-16 61 20
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 12 7 15 27 – 61
New Castle 15 15 19 19 – 68
Southeastern 3-point shooting (3-10) Etherington 2-4, Bowman 1-5, Smith 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (29) Etherington 7, Birchfield 6, Majak 6, Grubbs 5, Smith 2, Bowman 1, team 2.