By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Hamilton Southeastern had quite a bit to play for on Friday night.
The Royals were playing their first home game of the season, hosting Avon in the first Hoosier Crossroads Conference game of the year for both teams. It was a hard-fought game, and Southeastern came out with the win, 59-53.
The Royals had to contend with an Orioles team that was quick and scrappy on defense. It wasn’t until the second quarter that HSE started to get some separation from Avon, eventually taking a 25-18 halftime lead.
The Orioles, in fact, had the Royals down 10-6 in the first quarter. But Southeastern ended the period on a 7-0 run, giving it a 13-10 lead. Aaron Etherington, a 6-7 senior, started the run with a pair of free throws.
In the second quarter, senior Noah Smith added five points, including a 3-pointer. Sophomore Vinny Buccilla hit a late 3, and Mabor Majak, a 7-2 junior, added four points.
“One thing that we like about the team is we got some size, we got some versatility,” said HSE coach Brian Satterfield. “We’ve got some depth. Different things that we can put out there and do. Now we’re just trying to get the chemistry amongst them and trying to get the pieces to fall together.”
The Royals quickly extended their lead to 30-18 early in the third quarter after Etherington hit a 3 and junior Kole Hornbuckle scored on a floater. Avon scored seven straight points to cut Southeastern’s lead to 30-25, but that would be as close as the Orioles would get in the period. Landon Morris’ hook shot and a layin by Cam Smith got the lead back up to nine, and Buccilla nailed another late 3-pointer to put the Royals ahead 41-32 at the end of three quarters.
“We had different guys step up at different times,” said Satterfield. “Aaron, when we made that run, I know he hit that shot there to start the second quarter to get us going a little bit, get that lead in the first half. Noah’s always out there, competing and doing what he needs to. I thought Vinny hit a big shot there at the end of the third quarter.”
Avon got within five during the fourth quarter, after Le’Angelo Saravia hit a 3-pointer to trim HSE’s lead to 45-40. But Southeastern got the baskets it needed, after Smith hit a jumper and Etherington scored off a steal by Hornbuckle.
Majak also had some nice plays towards the end of the game. He scored on a putback, then would later block a shot. The Royals got back under their basket, where Majak made an easy layin. At the beginning of that sequence, Southeastern led 51-43 with 2:34 left; those plays made it 55-44 with a little over a minute to go (Avon hit a free throw during that time).
“That’s the one thing that’s special about this group, we got different guys that can do a lot of things,” said Satterfield. “And especially when all five guys are clicking, we can be really good.
“Tonight we just didn’t quite have that with all five guys, but you’re going to have ups and downs,” said Satterfield. Even so, the Royals found a way to win.
Etherington scored 14 points, with Smith right behind him at 13 points. Majak reached double-double status with 11 rebounds and 10 points.
Southeastern outrebounded Avon 43-23. Chris Grubbs grabbed 10 rebounds, with Etherington collecting seven and Hornbuckle six. Smith handed out six assists, and Hornbuckle blocked two shots.
The Royals are 3-0 and will play at Fort Wayne North Side at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Southeastern 59, Avon 53
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Noah Smith 4-6 4-4 13 1
Aaron Etherington 5-11 2-2 14 3
Kole Hornbuckle 2-4 2-2 6 1
Chris Grubbs 1-13 0-2 2 1
Mabor Majak 3-6 4-4 10 1
Chris Kottlowski 1-2 0-0 3 0
Vinny Buccilla 2-5 0-0 6 1
Cam Harris 0-0 0-0 0 0
Landon Morris 1-1 1-2 3 3
Brandon Miller 1-1 0-0 2 1
Totals 20-49 13-16 59 12
Score by Quarters
Avon 10 8 14 21 – 53
Southeastern 13 12 16 18 – 59
Southeastern 3-point shooting (6-10) Etherington 2-3, Buccilla 2-3, Kottlowski 1-2, Smith 1-1, Hornbuckle 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (43) Majak 11, Grubbs 10, Etherington 7, Hornbuckle 6, Morris 3, Smith 2, Miller 1, team 3.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Mabor Majak pulled 11 rebounds and had 10 points for the Royals in their 59-53 win over Avon. (Richie Hall)