Hamilton Southeastern got a big victory in its Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener Friday, winning 72-59 at Avon.
The Royals outscored the Orioles in each of the first three quarters, leading 19-14 after the first period and 27-20 at halftime. Southeastern went up 45-25 during the third quarter before Avon cut it to 45-30 by the end of the period. That set the stage for a fourth quarter that Royals coach John Ashworth said was “crazy back and forth.”
“We had a 15-point lead going into the fourth and they made a really good run to cut it to two,” said Ashworth. But Southeastern responded and was able to pull away for good. The coach said he was “proud of our kids for how they handled it and handled the run and stuck it out.”
Sam Jacobs scored 27 points for HSE, also handing out six assists. Deion Miles scored 13 points and dished out five assists.
“I was really happy Deion stepped up,” said Ashworth. “We’ve been on him about being more aggressive. He did a great job of getting to the baskets, got some layups.”
Ashworth said three players came off the bench and played well. Tyler Lacy scored nine points, including what the coach called “a huge 3-pointer.” Donovan Hamilton had seven points “and made some huge plays down the stretch,” said Ashworth. Josh Jones also helped out by playing tough defense on Chrishon McCroy, Avon’s top player.
“He came in and really, really did a good job of staying in front of them and making them shoot difficult shots and helped solidify the win,” said Ashworth.
Caleb Smock had eight points, including two 3s, while Michael Griffith led the rebounds with eight.
Southeastern is 1-1 and hosts Marion tonight in its Senior Night game.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 72, AVON 59
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Reph Stevenson 1-5 2-2 4 1
Caleb Smock 3-5 0-0 8 2
Deion Miles 5-8 3-6 13 3
Sam Jacobs 8-15 10-11 27 1
Michael Griffith 2-2 0-1 4 4
Donovan Hamilton 3-6 0-0 7 4
Tyler Lacy 3-4 2-2 9 2
Eli Robinson 0-1 0-0 0 3
Alex Troutman 0-0 0-0 0 2
Joshua Jones 0-0 0-0 0 3
Kasey Ash-Simpson 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 25-46 17-22 72 25
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 19 8 18 27 – 72
Avon 14 6 10 29 – 59
Southeastern 3-point shooting (5-13) Smock 2-4, Hamilton 1-4, Lacy 1-2, Jacobs 1-2, Miles 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (30) Griffith 6, Miles 4, Hamilton 3, Stevenson 3, Jacobs 3, Lacy 2, Robinson 1, team 8.