The Fishers boys basketball team played its Senior Night game Thursday, and it was also trying to play the role of the spoiler.
The Tigers took on Class 4A No. 1 Warren Central, which came into the Tiger Den looking to complete an undefeated regular season. Fishers gave the Warriors a battle, but Warren proved to be too much to handle, beating the Tigers 67-39 and finishing its regular season at 25-0.
The Warriors got off to a fast start, leading 21-14 after the first quarter. Fishers quickly cut that lead to 21-19 early in the second period, with Terry Hicks hitting a 3-pointer along the way. But Warren re-asserted itself by the end of the half, leading 33-22 at the break.
“I don’t think you can win a game in the first half, but I think you can lose a game in the first half,” said Tigers coach Matt Moore. “We dug too big of a whole early and then didn’t close the half out well.”
The Warriors rolled through the second half, extending its lead to 20 points (46-26) midway through the third quarter before Fishers cut it slightly, 47-29 at the close of the period. Warren kept going in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers 20-10.
“I thought we had a lot of good shots, I thought we got the ball in the basket area, which is what we wanted to do,” said Moore. But the coach said a physical game usually goes to the aggressor, and that’s what the Warriors were Thursday night.
“We’re a man or two down with injuries and other things, and so I was proud of our guys that played, got us back in that game that first half,” said Moore. “Our crowd was awesome and hopefully we can carry that on into next Friday.”
Hicks scored 16 points for the Tigers, while Jeremy Szilagyi added 10 points. Szilagyi got off to a great start, with seven first-quarter points. Hicks totaled six points in the second period. Josiah Matthews added eight points.
Fishers finished the regular season 11-11 and will await the winner of Tuesday’s first-round sectional game between host Noblesville and Anderson. The Tigers will play that winner next Friday, March 2, in the sectional semi-finals.
Warren Central 67, Fishers 39
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Jeremy Szilagyi 4 1-2 10 3
Bryce Gee 1 0-0 2 3
Craig Yoho 0 1-2 1 1
Brendhan Russom 0 2-2 2 0
Jack Maller 0 0-0 0 0
Josiah Matthews 3 1-3 8 2
Alex Szilagyi 0 0-0 0 4
Terry Hicks 6 3-4 16 0
Emmanuel Davis 0 0-0 0 4
Geoffrey Brown 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 14 8-13 39 17
Score by Quarters
Warren Central 21 12 14 20 – 67
Fishers 14 8 7 10 – 39
Fishers 3-pointers (3) Matthews, J. Szilagyi, Hicks.
ABOVE: Fishers’ Josiah Matthews scored eight points for the Tigers in their Thursday game with Warren Central.
BELOW: Fishers’ Terry Hicks scored 16 points, including a key second-quarter 3-pointer, to lead the Tigers in scoring during their Thursday game with Warren Central at the Tiger Den. (Richie Hall)
