In a slugfest, Zionsville used a patient offense and great interior defense to turn away Fishers in the opening round of Sectional 8 play.

 

Anthony Scales had eight of his game high ten points after halftime, including a free throw to tie the game at 21 with under a minute left. Following a Fishers turnover, Zionsville worked the ball into Gunnar Vannatta in the post. He found a cutting Jackson Hughes, whose 12 foot jumper kissed the glass and fell in at the buzzer, giving Zionsville the victory.

 

In what was a sloppy game from both sides, the two teams combined for 18 made field goals and 26 turnovers. Vannatta added seven points and four blocks for Zionsville, as the Eagles held Jeff Simmons, the earring scorer for Fishers at nearly 18 points per game, to just four points on 2-9 shooting from the floor.

 

Senior guard Alex Szilagyi paced Fishers with six points, as no Tiger made more than two field goals on the evening.

 

Zionsville advances to Friday’s first semifinal, where they will face Westfield. Fishers ends the season at 18-7.

 

 

Zionsville  4  6  7  6  -  23

Fishers      7  5  6  3  -  21

 

Zionsville: Anthony Scales 10 points (4/8 FGs, 2/3 FTs), 2 rebs; Gunnar Vannatta 7 points (3/3 FGs, 1/3 FTs), 3 rebs, 4 blks; Jackson Hughes 4 points (2/4 FGs); Nick Richart 2 points

 

Fishers: Alex Szilagyi 6 points (2/4 FGs, 1/3 3Ps, 1/1 FTs), 2 stls; Jeff Simmons 4 points (2/9 FGs), 3 rebs, 2 stls; Isaac Farah 3 points (1/1 3Ps), 3 rebs, 2 stls; Dominic Castellani 3 points (1/1 3Ps), 5 asts, 3 stls; Lucas Prewitt 3 points (1/3 3Ps); Charlie Smith 2 points (1/4 FGs)

 

 

 

In the second game at Noblesville, Carmel used a great game from junior wing Brian Waddell to outlast rival HSE. The 6’6 Waddell had 19 points on just four shot attempts, buoyed by 12-13 from the free throw line. Carmel never trailed in the game, although it was tied as late as 37-37 midway through the fourth quarter.

 

Hamilton Southeastern was led by Kole Hornbuckle and his 18 points. The 6’3 senior was just 2-7 from the field, but did hit 14 of 15 from the stripe. The Royals grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, but were often unable to convert second chance opportunities. Mabor Majak added 13 points and eight boards, but was just 4-11 shooting from the floor.

 

Pete Suder also reached double figures for Carmel with 11 points. His five steals came mostly from sneaking in from the weak side and swiping post entry passes into Majak.

 

The loss ended HSE’s 13 game winning streak as they finish the year with a 17-6 record. Carmel moves on to Friday’s semifinal where they face the host Noblesville Millers.

 

 

HSE         7  9    9  18  -  43

Carmel  12  5  13  20  -  50

 

HSE: Kole Hornbuckle 18 points (2/7 FGs, 14/15 FTs), 3 rebs; Mabor Majak 13 points (4/11 FGs, 5/6 FTs), 8 rebs, 2 blks; DeAndre Rhodes 6 points (3/6 FGs), 3 rebs, 2 stls; Vinny Buccilla 3 points (1/6 FGs, 1/2 3Ps), 3 rebs; Elliott Robinson 2 points (2/3 FTs); John McCall 1 points (1/2 FTs), 5 rebs

 

Carmel: Brian Waddell 19 points (3/4 FGs, 1/1 3Ps, 12/13 FTs), 6 rebs, 2 stls; Pete Suder 11 points (5/10 FGs, 1/2 FTs), 4 rebs, 5 stls; Jackson Jannsen 6 points (2/3 3Ps); Charlie Williams 4 points (1/7 FGs, 2/2 FTs); Nick Frische 4 points (2/3 FGs); Connor Gioia 3 points (1/3 FGs, 1/1 3Ps), 3 asts; Josh Whack 3 points (1/2 FGs, 1/1 3Ps)