by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton Southeastern extended its win streak to six games on Friday by beating Noblesville in an all-county and Hoosier Crossroads Conference contest at The Mill.
The Millers got off to a blistering start in the first quarter, but the Royals soon took over, using a solid defensive second period to get control of the game. Southeastern then took care of business in the second half to earn its 10th win of the season.
“The thing I like about this week is, we had some sickness going around, didn’t have everybody at practice at times,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “But we still had our guys together and focused on what we needed to do and get accomplished. It’s a big win. Coming in here, they’ve been playing a lot better here late and for us to come in here and
get a win is a big win for us.”
Noblesville blitzed out to an 8-0 lead early in the first quarter. Alex Hunt made
two 3-pointers, then E.J. Smith added a pair of free throws at the 5:51 mark.
The Royals soon regrouped, and went on a 13-2 run. Kole Hornbuckle took
over the game at that point, scoring seven points in a row to get HSE within 8-7.
Hunt ended the run with a putback, but the Royals scored the next six points, finishing with a dunk by Hornbuckle to put the Royals up 13-10.
The Millers ended the quarter up 16-15, thanks to 3-pointers from Brendon Fisher and Evan Wilson. The second quarter was all Southeastern, as it outscored Noblesville 16-3. With the score tied at 19-19, the Royals ran off 12 unanswered points; Hornbuckle added four
more, Vinny Buccilla drained a 3, and Mabor Majak made back-to-back dunks.
“You know it’s going to be a tough game with those guys,” said Millers coach John Peckinpaugh. “They’re pretty good, pretty talented.”
When the dust settled, HSE led 31-19. Satterfield his team “did a better job of
getting to where we needed to be, finishing plays, and especially in the first half,
we took care of the basketball.” He also credited the Royals’ defense with creating some of the early offense.
“That got us back into the game and then we extended it from there,” said Satterfield.
Southeastern kept its lead in double digits for most of the second half, although the Millers never allowed the Royals to get too far ahead. Noblesville did get within eight on two occasions; first in the third quarter when a 3 by Noah Harris and a Hunt dunk cut the HSE lead to 35-27.
Later, Harris made a putback to keep Noblesville within 38-29. But Southeastern went on a 7-0 run that extended into the fourth quarter, which included another Majak dunk and a 3 by DeAndre Rhodes. Majak totaled four dunks for the game.
“We want to take what the defense gives us,” said Satterfield. “And if we can get the ball inside to him and let him play and do some things, we want to do that at the same time. If they’re taking him away, we want other guys to step up and knock down shots.”
A Hornbuckle jumper opened the fourth quarter, and put HSE up 45-29. Noblesville answered with its own 7-0 run; Harris made another 3, then Fisher and Jordan Gadis added baskets. The Millers were now within 45-36, but the Royals finished the game from the free
throw line, making eight of 10 in the final two and a half minutes.
Hornbuckle finished the game with 19 points, and was 6-of-6 from the line. He also had five rebounds and four steals. Majak added 11 points and collected eight rebounds, while Buccilla scored 10 points.
Harris led Noblesville with 11 points, including three 3s, and collected four rebounds. Hunt added 10 points, while Gadis had four rebounds.
“It’s a good group of kids,” said Peckinpaugh. “They all work hard. They all want to be bought in and do what we’re asking them to do. If we can keep that approach, take it one practice at a time, I think by sectional time we can be a different team.”
Southeastern is 3-2 in conference play and 10-5 overall, and returns home tonight to play Mishawaka Marian. The Millers are 1-4 in the HCC and 9-9 overall, and are off until next Saturday, Feb. 8, when they play an afternoon game at Mount Vernon.
