Hamilton Southeastern 44, Fishers 40

It's one thing to have a team go on a late run to effectively decide the game.  It's another to have both teams struggle to score and have it happen.  Suddenly, your team is charged to do what it hadn't done all game.  That's what Fishers found themselves in last night, as HSE stretch a 32-30 lead heading into the 4th in a 42-35 lead with just over two minutes left.

  • Tweeted during the game, last year Jeffrey Simmons struggled vs. Zionsville's length inside.  He struggled vs. HSE's physicality last night, not finishing around the basket in traffic.  What he has added since last year is an improved jump shot with 3PT range.
    • Simmons also had short bouts with foul trouble
  • Both teams were excellent defensively, and while both teams average just under 60 points per game, the pace of this game favored HSE.  Fishers has more playmakers on the perimeter, but Vinny Buccilla's presence was all over HSE 4th quarter run.
  • John McCall, 6'4" forward, didn't get much done in the first half for HSE.  In the second half, he converted almost every time he had the ball around the basket.  He has a deft touch off the glass, and he found a few angles, dropping the ball in over both shoulders.
    • This was not a fluke.  While he is undersized, he's a strong kid who can keep his normally taller defenders at bay, giving him the space he needs to finish.
  • Ultimate for Fishers, Simmons was really the only one connecting from the 3PT line, but it wasn't nearly at a volume that was going to afford them a late comeback.  HSE had a couple of empty possessions from the FT line, which gave Fishers a glimmer of hope, but it was too much, too late.

Westfield 61, Zionsville 47

Zionsville closed on a 13-0 run with the benches cleared to get it to this margin.  That's how dominant Westfield was, especially in the second and third quarters.  It seemed like anytime Westfield's Coach Sumpter called for patience, Braden Smith or Cam Haffner would bury a quick 3.  

It was that kind of night for Westfield. 

  • Both Smith and Haffner are capable of torching their opponent, and as good as Smith is at finding teammates, him hunting shots is always a good thing.  He's not always hunting shots though.  It sets everything else up.
    • Both have quick releases and lift effortlessly into their shots, allowing them to shoot with confidence even when contested.
  • Westfield surrounded Zionsville's Nick Richart the whole first half.  3/4 top to a full front with at least one off ball defender, sometimes two, shading his way the entire time.  They completely stymied Zionsville's efforts to get the ball into the 6'8" sophomore center. 
    • The high/low was taken away, and Westfield he stayed in as the ball reversed.  Zionsville didn't get the ball into Richart on an inside seal until the second half.  
  • There was a stretch in the second quarter that if Zionsville could get stops, Logan Imes could get going enough to close the gap.  For a stretch, he was matching Smith, but Imes was the only offensive weapon they had while the game was still in doubt.
  • Back to Smith.  Zionsville shut off his baseline drives early last night.  He had a drift pass into a turnover, and he nearly had a turnover trying to split the middle to a cutter through the paint.  However, he still possesses the best vision in the state, certainly among 2022 kids.  (Give me Smith or Warren's Malik Stanley (2021) in that discussion)
    • I'm bought in that Smith is a HM point guard now.  You give him a plus- or better big to pair with on ball screens it would enable his complete bag of tricks.  His willingness to shoot contested shots is kind of the last step.  He wasn't hunting shots like this year or even back in June or July. (Didn't seem later in the July or August.)

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