By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – With his team down 10 points to Avon midway through the fourth quarter Thursday night, Fishers coach Garrett Winegar wasn’t allowing his team to stay down, in more ways than one.
“I was trying to just keep the energy up with them,” said the first-year Tigers coach. Winegar noted that it would be easy for a team to pack it in after falling that far behind.
Instead, Fishers did the opposite. The Tigers finished the game on a 20-2 run to stun the Orioles 62-54 in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest at the Tiger Den. The win gave Fishers back-to-back victories and kept the Tigers in the thick of a wide-open conference race.
Winegar said that a 10-point lead “can get erased quick if you get a couple stops and a couple baskets, and that’s what we were able to do.”
Fishers trailed 52-42 with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter. Sean Millsaps started the run with a 3-point basket. Avon’s Chrishon McCray made two free throws at the 3:29 mark, but the Orioles would not score again.
Charlie Smith scored on a putback while being fouled, and made the free throw to finish the three-point play. Jeffrey Simmons hit a layin, then Myles Stringer nailed a 3, getting the Tigers within 54-53 with 1:17 left.
“I’ve talked to our guys a lot that we’re not going to be the most talented team on the floor most nights we play,” said Winegar. “But we can be the best team because we have so many guys who can help us. We saw that tonight.”
Avon called a timeout, but there was no stopping Fishers. Simmons put the Tigers ahead with a triple, then Stringer quickly made a steal and scored to give Fishers a 58-54 lead. Simmons then went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 35 seconds.
“We had four different guys hit a shot in that fourth-quarter run,” said Winegar. “And that’s what we have to be. We have to be an unselfish team that’s willing to take the best shot, no matter who gets it.”
Fishers was in control during the first quarter, leading 18-8 by the end of the period. Simmons had seven points in that quarter, with Matt Brewer scoring in the final seconds to put the Tigers up by 10 for the first time.
Fishers enjoyed its second 10-point lead in the second quarter, when a putback by Lucas Prewitt got the Tigers up 23-13. Avon went on an 11-2 run that stretched into the third period; the Orioles had cut Fishers’ lead to 25-20 by halftime, then McCray made consecutive layins to reduce that lead to 25-24.
Stringer ended the run with an and-1, starting a 7-0 Tigers run that put them up 32-24. Avon came back and took a brief 38-37 lead, but Prewitt drained a 3 at the end of the third, and Fishers led 40-38. The Orioles were in control for the first part of the fourth quarter, going on a 14-2 run, but Millsaps’ 3 began the turn of the tide.
All eight Fishers players that took to the floor scored, and all of them had at least three points. Simmons led with 21 points, with Stringer scoring 11 points.
The Tigers’ victory has created a four-way tie for first place in the HCC standings. Fishers shares the lead with Westfield, Zionsville and Hamilton Southeastern, all of which have 4-2 records. The Tigers will play Zionsville next Friday, Feb. 19.
Fishers is 11-5 overall and hosts Pendleton Heights tonight.
FISHERS 62, AVON 54
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Myles Stringer 4 1-1 11 4
Bryce Williams 2 0-0 4 2
Charlie Smith 3 2-2 8 2
Jeffrey Simmons 7 5-5 21 3
Lucas Prewitt 4 0-0 9 4
Sean Millsaps 1 0-0 3 3
Drew Turner 1 1-2 3 1
Matt Brewer 1 1-2 3 1
Totals 23 10-12 62 20
Score by Quarters
Avon 8 12 18 16 – 54
Fishers 18 7 15 22 – 62
Fishers 3-pointers (6) Stringer 2, Simmons 2, Millsaps 1, Prewitt 1.