By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Finally back on the court after two weeks, Hamilton Southeastern got to play its first home game on Thursday.
It was also Senior Night for the Royals, as well as their first Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the season, as Southeastern hosted Avon. The Royals got off to a great start, then held off the expected Orioles comeback to win 68-60.
Southeastern never trailed in the game, even during a close first quarter. The Royals were engaged from the start, as Alex Totton drew a foul while scoring the contest’s first basket – just five seconds in. Totton made the subsequent free throw and HSE was up 3-0.
Avon’s Nick Walker made a 3-pointer to tie the game, but the Royals took the lead for good on back-to-back layins from Vinny Buccilla and John McCall. The first quarter was played at a torrid pace, and ended with Southeastern ahead 24-19. Totton scored nine points in that period, nailing two 3-pointers after his game-starting and-1. McCall helped out with seven points and Sam Jacobs added four.
The Orioles’ Dominique Williams scored the first basket of the second quarter, a putback to get Avon within 24-21. The Royals took over after that, going on a 14-0 run. Dalton Retzner made back-to-back layins, and Totton hit back-to-back triples. That run carried Southeastern into halftime, where it led 42-31.
The Royals’ balance was in full effect by halftime. Totton had 15 points, with McCall at nine and Sam Jacobs adding seven points.
“One thing that we always keep trying to talk about is having that balance, because if you have that balance, then they can’t really key on certain guys, and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing every night,” said Southeastern coach Brian Satterfield.
The game slowed down in the third quarter, but the Royals remained in front. A 9-2 run put them ahead 51-34 with less than a minute to go in the period; four different HSE players scored during that run.
But Avon went on a run of its own, scoring 15 straight points to get within 51-49 with just over five minutes to play. Southeastern scored six quick points to get back ahead 57-49; Retzner made three of four foul shots and Totton threw in his fifth 3-pointer of the game.
“I thought we started out pretty well, but then they made their run,” said Satterfield.
From there, the Royals kept their lead between five and nine points. The nine-point lead came with 2:09 left, when Totton made a pair of free throws. Two more foul shots from Jason Stutz with 1:13 left got Southeastern up 66-59, and the Royals were able to hang on from there.
“We keep talking about toughness with this group and I thought they withstood it, they were able to make plays down the stretch, and that’s the most important thing,” said Satterfield.
Four HSE players reached double figures in scoring. Totton’s five 3-pointers were part of his 20 points, Jacobs and McCall both scored 11 and Retzner added 10. Buccilla collected eight rebounds while Loudon Sundling pulled six. Buccilla dished out four assists and Retzner made two blocked shots.
Southeastern is 2-1 for the season and is back home again tonight to host North Central. Satterfield said the stretch is going to be tough, but back-to-back games are certainly better than not playing at all.
“We knew that this was going to be tough, but with all the things with COVID going on, we just wanted to get the game in, especially since we haven’t played in a while,” said Satterfield. “Didn’t get to play last weekend, we just wanted to get in there and get some game action in. We know it’s going to be a challenge, but at least we’re getting the opportunity to play.”
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 68, AVON 60
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Jason Stutz 3-6 2-7 8 3
Alex Totton 6-11 3-3 20 2
Dalton Retzner 3-6 4-8 10 4
Vinny Buccilla 2-8 1-2 5 2
John McCall 3-9 4-6 11 1
Loudon Sundling 0-0 0-0 0 5
Isaac Bowman 1-1 0-2 3 0
Sam Jacobs 4-9 3-4 11 4
Mohammed Awad 0-3 0-0 0 0
Deion Miles 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 22-53 17-32 68 22
Score by Quarters
Avon 19 12 6 23 – 60
Southeastern 24 18 9 17 – 68
Southeastern 3-point shooting (7-14) Totton 5-9, Bowman 1-1, McCall 1-1, Stutz 0-1, Retzner 0-1, Buccilla 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (41) Buccilla 8, Sundling 6, McCall 4, Retzner 3, Awad 3, Stutz 2, Totton 2, Jacobs 2, Bowman 1, team 10.