By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
FISHERS – Reph Stevenson and the Hamilton Southeastern Royals waited nine months for Friday night’s season opener, and once the ball was finally tipped, they dropped the hammer.
Stevenson threw down a thunderous breakaway dunk for an and-1 play in the game’s final seconds to finish with game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds, as the host Royals won convincingly against Hoosier Crossroads Conference rival Avon, 59-47.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Our first few games got rescheduled because of football, so we’ve been hungry this whole time,” Stevenson said. “The guys have been ready, and we brought the energy tonight.”
The Royals (1-0, 1-0 HCC) last played on March 4, falling to rival Westfield in the sectional, and their initial season-opening game was postponed due to the football team’s deep state tournament run.
At home to launch the 2022-23 campaign, the HSE defense rose to the occasion early, Stevenson attacked the rim throughout and the Royals’ sharpshooting tandem of senior Joe Karwowski and junior Eli Robinson provided a combined six clutch 3-pointers.
Stevenson, a 6-foot-7 senior, provided four of HSE’s first nine points and eight overall in the first half with seven boards.
The Royals kicked off the first quarter with a 9-0 lead, while the Avon Orioles (1-2, 0-1 HCC) went 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from the foul line before finding the scoreboard with 1 minute, 13 seconds left in the frame.
“That was huge. Coach said our defense was great. We held them scoreless for around six minutes. That got us off to a great start and really pumped up our energy and got our confidence up for the whole game,” Stevenson said.
The Orioles responded following senior Keilyn Moore’s pair of free throws 6:47 into the game, slicing the deficit to 13-12 midway through the second quarter.
Junior Donovan Hamilton and Stevenson answered and increased the margin 18-12, but the Orioles charged back to take a 19-18 lead behind a putback bucket by senior Daniel Eck two minutes later.
Trailing for the first time all night, Karwowski found his shot from long range, burying back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Royals on top where they remained the rest of the way.
The Royals a pair of double-digit leads against Avon behind the hot-shooting hand of Robinson, who finished with 12 points and four rebounds on 4 of 9 shooting from the field and 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Robinson’s first wave of back-to-back 3s pushed HSE ahead 32-21 in the third quarter and later the 6-4 forward drilled another in the fourth quarter to bolster the advantage, 46-34.
“We had some guys that stepped up off the bench. Joe Karwowski came in and hit some big threes in the second quarter. In the second half, Eli Robinson hit some shots that really helped us, but again, I’m really proud of our effort and finding a way to win,” HSE head coach John Ashworth said. “Any conference game is going to be a tough game, a hard-fought game, so you just have to find a way.”
Southeastern coach John Ashworth began his second season as the coach of the Royals. (Joshua Herd)
The Royals utilized their depth to fend off the Orioles, who closed in within two possessions five times.
Hamilton and junior Deion Miles both had eight points with the latter dishing out eight assists. Hamilton hauled in five rebounds and shot 2 of 3 from deep and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Miles had four boards.
Karwowski added seven points with three rebounds, as the Royals shot 44 percent from the field compared to Avon’s 33.3.
“We knew early on there were going to be some jitters, and it was our first game. We’ve been waiting about a month to play, so for us to really lean on our defense and get stops early, I think, really helped us settle into the game,” Ashworth said. “If you can hold a team scoreless for about six minutes, that’s a really good recipe for success.”
Despite the slow start, Avon’s Jordan Lomax, a 6-2 junior, finished with 20 points. Moore had nine points and six rebounds. Rashod Bethley chipped in seven points, followed by Daniel Eck with five and nine rebounds.
Stevenson slammed down a two-handed dunk early in the second quarter, but his final aerial display made a statement.
“That one felt great. I love getting the crowd hyped,” Stevenson said. “I enjoy it. When my teammates get me going. When they find me in opportunities, I always finish. Every time I get a dunk, I do that because it brings the hype. I feel like that brings the juice.”
The Royals will try to complete the back-to-back weekend sweep at Marion tonight before hosting North Central next week on Dec. 9.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 59, AVON 47
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Donovan Hamilton 2-6 2-2 8 5
Reph Stevenson 8-13 4-8 20 2
Deion Miles 4-9 0-0 8 2
Michael Griffith 1-4 0-0 2 5
Eli Robinson 4-9 0-0 12 3
Braeden Totten 1-5 0-0 2 2
Joe Karwowski 2-4 1-2 7 0
Myles Holman 0-0 0-0 0 2
Christian Pfeifer 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-50 7-12 59 21
Score by Quarters
Avon 6 15 11 15 – 47
Southeastern 9 15 15 20 – 59
Southeastern 3-pointers (8-19) Robinson 4-8, Hamilton 2-3, Karwowski 2-2, Stevenson 0-2, Totten 0-2, Miles 0-1, Griffith 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (34) Stevenson 13, Hamilton 5, Miles 4, Robinson 4, Karwowski 3, Griffith 2, Holman 1, team 2.