When Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers get together, it is always a slugfest and that occurred again Tuesday night. Both teams worked the ball through the paint, and defenders were not afraid to foul. It was a throwback game with each team only making one three-pointer. In the end, Hamilton Southeastern advanced with the 44-40 victory.

 

A sign of things to come, it took Fishers nearly four minutes to score its first points. Those came on a three-pointer from Jeffrey Simmons. On the other end, the Royals were not lighting up the scoreboard, either. HSE only scored five points in the first five and a half minutes. Isaac Bowman connected on a top of the key triple to give HSE an 8-5 lead with 2:16 to play in the first quarter. The scoring picked up a bit as both teams reached the foul line multiple times.

 

Leading 12-11 after one, Hamilton Southeastern opened the second with a bucket from Sam Jacobs. Moments later, he made two free throws to give the Royals a 16-11 lead. Charlie Smith started to make things happen for Fishers. His slashing put pressure on the HSE defense that was already facing the bonus with every foul. Again, the teams lived at the free-throw line. 

 

For Hamilton Southeastern, Dalton Retzner was the story. He scored nine points in the first half as he took the action at Simmons and the rest of the Fishers frontcourt. The Royals only shot two three-pointers as they worked the ball inside. Retzner was up to the challenge early.

 

The third quarter was a low-possession frame as each team worked the ball. Retzner scored four more points for HSE, but the rest of the Royals only added four in the quarter. After a slow start, Simmons and Bryce Williams found a bit of a rhythm for the Tigers. They combined for eight points in the third.

 

Down two heading to the fourth, Williams scored to tie the game on the first possession. Buccilla scored for HSE before John McCall took over for the Royals. The power forward used his strength to overpower Fishers on the block. He scored six points in a row then Buccilla bookended the stretch with another bucket to stretch HSE's lead to 42-35.

 

Fishers responded quickly as Simmons made two free throws then Smith took a miss free throw coast to coast for a score. Hamilton Southeastern's lead was three with 30 seconds to play. Smith came through again as he picked the pocket of McCall on a lobbed in-bound pass. With 8.2 left, Sean Millsaps was fouled. He split the free throws for Fishers to make it a two-point game. That was as close as Fishers could get.

 

Alex Totten made two free throws with 5.7 seconds left to ice the game. Hamilton Southeastern will play No. 2 Carmel on Friday at Carmel.

 

Retzner finished with 13 points and four rebounds to lead HSE. Buccilla and McCall each scored ten, and Sam Jacobs scored four points. Totten added two points and five rebounds.

 

Williams led Fishers with 12 points. Simmons finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Smith recorded ten points, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists.