By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Fishers boys basketball team has been busy over the last few days trying to complete an unbeaten Hoosier Crossroads Conference season.
Somewhere during that time, the HCC champion Tigers found time to take on Lawrence North.
Fishers, ranked No. 3 in the IBCA coaches poll and the Associated Press Class 4A ratings, hosted the IBCA No. 15 Wildcats Tuesday at the Tiger Den and found themselves in a deep hole in the second quarter. But thanks to its resilience, maturity and a career game from Bryce Williams, Fishers came back, outscoring LN 23-8 in the fourth quarter for a 53-47 victory.
The Wildcats were rolling early, leading 14-7 after the first quarter. Lawrence North then opened the second period on a 10-1 run, going on top 24-8 with 4:50 left in the second period. CJ Gunn, the Wildcats’ Indiana University-bound star, had 15 points for his team at that point.
The Tigers began their comeback during the later half of the quarter, using a 12-3 spurt to get within 27-20 by halftime. Williams showed rumblings of things to come by scoring seven points of that run, including a 3-pointer to end the half. Williams’ triple answered a 3 from Bryson Bond, which had halted a run of nine unanswered Fishers points.
“I just thought we were stagnant in the first quarter and we just finally got the ball moving and we picked up our defensive energy,” said Tigers coach Garrett Winegar. “Then we got out a little bit and got some of that, and then at halftime, we got it to a seven-point game, just told them we’ve been there before, this is not new. We’ve been down in games and this is a game we can win, and also we had guys step up to hit big shots.”
Consecutive baskets by Omar Cooper Jr. pushed LN’s lead back up to 31-20, but Fishers went on a 7-0 run to get within 31-27. Payton Weemer made a layin, then it was Bryce time again: Williams nailed a 3, then score off a steal by Charlie Smith.
Williams said that after that basket, “everyone was screaming around the gym, and I think that was the turning point right there.”
The second half turned out to be almost all back-and-forth runs. Lawrence North scored eight straight points to go up 39-27, then Aidan Zimmer finished the third quarter with a 3. That launched a 9-0 spurt, with Williams scoring four points and Smith making a pair of free throws.
The Wildcats still led 43-36 with 3:19 left. It was all Tigers after that, as they finished the game on an incredible 17-4 run. Fishers started by scoring 12 unanswered points, beginning with back-to-back triples by Williams and Sean Millsaps to get within one.
Jeffrey Simmons scored the go-ahead basket on a layin, then Williams went to the line twice in one-and-one situations, making all four foul shots. Lawrence North scored four points to get within 48-47, but Smith made a three-point play with 41.8 seconds left to push the Tigers up 51-47. Two more free throws from Williams sealed the game.
“They’re in that zone the first half, and Bryce was trying to move the ball and do what he thought we wanted, get the ball moving, get it swinging,” said Winegar. “But we really needed him to be more aggressive, and that was the message at halftime. Whether they’re in man or in zone, we need you to attack, we need you to get paint touches and make plays. And a lot of times with Bryce this year, that’s been making plays for Jeffrey or making plays for Jalen and getting a lot of assists.
“But tonight, he was able to turn them into points for him. He did a great job. He’s really matured in his leadership, his body language. His mental approach to the game has improved so much in the last 24 months, so I’m just extremely proud of him.”
Williams finished the game with 27 points, while Smith and Simmons each scored eight. Williams also collected seven rebounds, while Smith dished out 10 assists.
Fishers is 19-2 overall and travels to Zionsville on Friday to finish HCC play. The Tigers have already clinched an outright conference championship at 6-0, but of course, they want to complete the unbeaten HCC season.
And while the post-season is Fishers’ goal, Winegar is happy for the conference title, saying “it’s pretty cool for the players, I think it’s pretty cool for the student section. We’ve had great student sections this year and really good community support, so I think it’s cool to show that in such a good conference, we’re right there with those best teams.”
FISHERS 53, LAWRENCE NORTH 47
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Myles Stringer 0-0 0-0 0 5
Aidan Zimmer 1-2 0-0 3 2
Bryce Williams 8-15 8-8 27 3
Charlie Smith 2-3 3-3 8 3
Jeffrey Simmons 3-5 1-3 8 2
Payton Weemer 2-4 0-0 4 1
Sean Millsaps 1-2 0-0 3 0
Josh Forbes 0-0 0-0 0 0
Matt Brewer 0-0 0-0 0 0
Millen McCartney 0-1 0-0 0 0
JonAnthony Hall 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 17-32 12-14 53 16
Score by Quarters
Lawrence North 14 13 12 8 – 47
Fishers 7 13 10 23 – 53
Fishers 3-point shooting (7-17) Williams 3-7, Millsaps 1-2, Zimmer 1-2, Smith 1-2, Simmons 1-2, Weemer 0-1, McCartney 0-1.
Fishers rebounds (19) Williams 7, Smith 4, Simmons 4, Stringer 1, Brewer 1, team 2.