Hamilton Southeastern’s Varschon Clark (left) shoots the ball during the Royals’ sectional game with Fishers on Friday, March 6. Pictured at right is the Tigers’ Cooper Zachary. (Joshua Herd)
By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – For 18 minutes, the 12th-ranked Class 4A Hamilton Southeastern Royals didn’t just challenge top-ranked Fishers, they stole the show.
That was until the unbeaten Tigers mounted a ferocious second-half comeback inside Noblesville’s Mill to cool off the red-hot Royals, 75-65, during the Sectional 8 semifinals on Friday, March 6.
HSE entered the Mudsock rematch winners of eight straight games, and with an 18-17 lead after the first quarter and a 35-29 advantage at halftime, a ninth-straight seemed feasible.
During the regular season, HSE (15-10) lost to Fishers, 68-61, at the Fishers Event Center on Dec. 19.
However, HSE’s 7 of 13 shooting from 3-point range in the first half and 13 points off seven Tigers’ turnovers at sectional gave the Royals early momentum.
“In the first half, even though we still made some mistakes, the confidence that we had was just incredible. We’ve seen it for the past few weeks,” HSE coach Bobby Allen said. “We hung with them. We kept fighting.”
Seniors Luke Weemer and Landon Osswald were the Royals’ driving force, combining for 4 of 7 treys, as HSE erased three first-half deficits.
Fishers’ slow start (2-for-11 3-point shooting) opened the door, but a decisive 20-2 run in the third quarter flipped the game.
“Took too many quick shots first half, didn’t make them work,” Fishers coach Garrett Winegar said. “We felt they were really good at first-side defense. If we did not shift the ball to the other side, they were really good. When we would make them scramble and get multiple sides of the floor, we could be effective.”
The Tigers welcomed back junior star Jason Gardner, who came off the bench, in his first game since suffering a hand fracture against HSE more than two months ago.
Gardner converted his first bucket from the free-throw line in the first quarter and later helped facilitate Fishers’ run in the third en route to a game-high and career-high 24 points (8 of 12 shooting) and five rebounds.
Senior Kai McGrew had 11 points and six rebounds with a block, while junior Cooper Zachary, who had six points in the third, finished with 17 overall, a team-high eight rebounds, two assists and five steals.
Junior Levi Walker added 13 points with five rebounds.
“That was the message of half. We have to get inside. The ball’s got to go multiple sides of the floor, and we need to have a ball mover out there,” Winegar said. “Coaches get a lot of credit for halftime adjustments, and maybe that’s a small part of it, but the players have to go execute. They deserve all the credit.”
HSE trailed by as many as 13 points, but the group cut the margin to three possessions five times in the second half after Fishers surged ahead 49-37 late in the third quarter.
Weemer had a team-high 17 points, followed by 13 points and eight rebounds for Osswald. Sophomore Varschon Clark had 12 points and drilled a 3-pointer before the buzzer to give HSE the lead to end the first quarter.
HSE’s winning streak was its longest since the program rattled off 13 straight in 2019-20.
“Fishers made plays to finish the game when they had to. They just know how to win,” Allen said. “I’m taking away from this first year that there are committed kids at Hamilton Southeastern that are willing to sacrifice for what’s best for the team. That’s what we did over the past seven weeks.”
HSE’s previous loss occurred on the same court against Noblesville, 56-49, on Jan. 30, before they climbed the 4A state rankings and produced the program’s third consecutive winning season.
“The locker room after the game, we could have sat there and complained and been upset and blamed, but there was none of that. Our seniors were grateful for the year, and the underclassmen were grateful for the seniors,” Allen said. “I just hate it for our seniors, who really were the engine that made this kind of team go. We had confidence, and it’s fun to watch a group do that on their own. They’re out there playing together, making the right plays, and again, showed that we belong.”
