Fishers faced adversity in its first game of the season but they were able to meet the challenge to beat Indianapolis Manual 78-68 on Wednesday night.

It was not a pretty start for Fishers. On the first possession, the Tigers fouled Courvoisier McCauley to give Manual a couple of free throws. Fishers turned the ball over without getting a shot off in the next two possessions. They settled down from there for eight straight points.

Senior Connor Washburn was a major key for Fishers early with his rebounding and scoring around the basket. He tallied five points and four rebounds in the first eight minutes of play. Washburn helped calm Fishers down with his play.

Manual senior Courvoisier McCauley was aggressive from the start. He had about half of Manual’s points in the first half – 12 of 25. Outside of McCauley, Manual struggled to score against Fishers in the first half.

Washburn injured his hand in the first half and did not return to the game. That was a big blow to Fishers. The Tigers made up for Washburn’s absence with the scoring of Jamil Turner-Hall and the shooting of Jeremy Szilagyi. Turner-Hall was attacking the basket with great success throughout the second. When Manual collapsed on him or lost track of Szilagyi, he made them pay with a three-pointer. He scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half.

TJ Waldon, a transfer from North Central, gave Manual a boost at the end of the third with athletic plays around the basket. A big dunk from Waldon cut the Fishers lead to six points late in the quarter. Manual wasn’t able to get over the hump because Turner-Hall and Szilagyi made more plays.

Fishers opened a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter before McCauley caught fire to bring Manual back within eight. McCauley finished with a game-high 34 points in a losing effort.

Fishers moved to 1-0 with the 78-68 victory while Manual dropped to 1-1.

Jamil Turner-Hall and Jeremy Szilagyi each scored 23 points with Armaan Franklin adding 10 points.

Manual – Cameron Seembly 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers, Nathan Meriwether 7 points, Ali Alquaishy 0 points, Courvouisier McCauley 34 (10-24, 4-10 3FG, 10-12 FT), 7 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 turnovers, Jalen Johnson 3 points, 1 rebound, Jarron Glenn 1 points 2 rebounds, Amarii Evans 8 points, 2 rebounds, TJ Waldon 9 points, 5 rebounds

Fishers – Jamil Turner-Hall 23 points (10-12 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-5 FT), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 turnovers, Willie Jackson 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 turnovers, JT Counts 2 points, 4 rebounds, Connor Washburn 7 points, 5 rebounds, Armaan Franklin 10 points (3-5 FG, 0-1 3FG, 4-7), Reid Stephens 4 points, Jeremy Szilagyi 23 points (8-10 FG, 5-6 3FG, 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds