by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
FISHERS – Even during a basketball season with fan restrictions, quarantines and interrupted schedules, some things aren’t changing.
A good example of this is the Mudsock boys basketball game, which took place Friday when Hamilton Southeastern visited Fishers. While some things were different, such as a drastically reduced crowd at the Tiger Den due to those restrictions, the emotion of the game was still the same.
The Royals rode that emotion into a big win. Despite being down for a good portion of the first half, Southeastern turned things around by the second quarter and went on to a 65-51 victory over the Class 4A No. 10 Tigers.
“That was the biggest thing that we keep harping on with our guys: The way that we were resilient, kept fighting back and never give up,” said Royals coach Brian Satterfield. “The one thing that we love about our kids, they get out there and they compete every day.”
Fishers hadn’t played a game since Dec. 1, but showed no signs of rust in the first quarter. The Tigers skipped off to an 11-2 lead; HSE’s Vinny Buccilla scored the first basket of the game before Fishers ran off 11 straight points. Lucas Prewitt hit a 3-pointers, Jeffrey Simmons and Bryce Williams both made three-point plays, then Simmons scored again on a layin.
Simmons then nailed two more triples in the latter part of the quarter, helping the Tigers to a 21-11 lead. Buccilla made a pair of free throws and Alex Totton scored the last basket of the period to get HSE within 21-15, then Loudon Sundling opened the second with a layin.
Williams made a rare four-point play, making the free throw while being fouled in the act of hitting a 3-pointer, early in the second quarter. Simmons made two foul shots a minute later, and Fishers led 29-19.
That’s when the Royals made their first big run, a 13-0 stretch to take a 32-31 lead with under three minutes remaining in the half. Isaac Bowman drained a pair of 3s, and Buccilla added five points.
Southeastern then hung on to the lead until halftime, which saw the Royals ahead 38-36. Williams hit a 3-pointer to keep the Tigers within two.
“They came out and they were outhustling and winning those 50/50 balls early on and that’s what allowed them to get that lead,” said Satterfield. “They were moving the basketball and hitting the open look. I think after that, especially in that second quarter, we started winning those 50/50 balls, were getting the rebounds.”
Fishers’ Drew Turner opened the second half with a putback to tie the game at 38-38. But Southeastern embarked on another run, this one a 15-3 run that took up most of the third quarter. Buccilla had six points during that stretch, and Sam Jacobs threw in a 3.
A basket by John McCall finished the period and gave the Royals a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth. McCall scored the first point of that quarter on a free throw, and from that point forward, HSE kept its lead between 12 and 16 points. Jacobs added six more points and Dalton Retzner made a dunk.
Buccilla led the Royals with 18 points, while Totton, Jacobs and McCall each scored 11. Buccilla handed out eight assists and collected six rebounds, with Totton pulling five rebounds and making four steals. Jacobs blocked two shots.
Simmons scored 20 points for the Tigers, followed by Williams with 14. Simmons led the rebounding with eight, Charlie Smith collected six and Lucas Prewitt had five. Simmons made six steals and Prewitt had two blocks.
“For the first time all year, we got a team that could play with us that, we punched them in the mouth first, got a big lead, but with good teams, there’s always going to be another run,” said Tigers coach Garrett Winegar. “They’re going to come back. And we didn’t respond to that well. I thought the emotion of the HSE game, of the Mudsock game, got the better of a lot of our guys.”
Southeastern improved to 3-2 and will host Brebeuf Jesuit on Tuesday. Fishers is
2-1 and also plays on Tuesday, traveling to Lawrence North.
