by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
An all-county and Hoosier Crossroads Conference game went the Royals’ way Friday night, as Hamilton Southeastern beat Noblesville 68-43 at the HSE gym.
The Royals never trailed and steadily built their lead over the contest, and that
resulted in a second straight win at home.
It’s the first time since December that Southeastern has won back-to-back games,
which coach Brian Satterfield credited to finally having everyone back after a string
of injuries and illness.
“We’ve finally got everybody healthy and we’re starting to try to put the pieces
together,” said Satterfield.
Junior Mabor Majak scored the first four points of the game, which Noblesville’s Xavier Hines answered with a 3-pointer. Majak then made a putback, and the Millers’ Jordan Schmidt hit a short jumper to keep Noblesville within 6-5. But the Royals got a sudden burst from their long range game, when Noah Smith and Vinny Buccilla each hit 3s. That put Southeastern up 12-5, and it would lead by around that margin for most of the first half.
The Royals led 15-9 going into the second quarter. The Millers got within 20-16 after Eagan Keever-Hill hit a 3 and Zack Johnson made a layin. Southeastern ended the half on a 9-3 run, with Bradley Beemon’s 3-pointer answering Hines’ 3, then Landon Morris’ layin gave the Royals a 29-19 lead at the break.
“One thing that was special about tonight is how we shared the basketball and we took care of it,” said Satterfield. “I know the first half we only had one turnover.”
Satterfield was also pleased with his team’s rebounding, especially on the offensive end. In the first half, the Royals had eight offensive rebounds.
“Even on some occasions when we did have some misses, we got some offensive
rebounds and had some opportunities there,” said Satterfield.
Noblesville coach Brian McCauley agreed that the offensive rebounding was
crucial to the game.
“For the game they had 14 offensive rebounds, and you’re just not going to win
many games where you give up 14 offensive rebounds,” said McCauley.
Still, the Millers stayed close through most of the third quarter. Keever-Hill made another 3, and a five-point burst (a Hines jumper and Alex Hunt 3) kept the Millers within 37-29.
Southeastern quickly pushed the lead up 41-29 when Aaron Etherington made a dunk and Chris Grubbs hit a layin.
The Royals led 45-35 late in the third, then went off on a 15-0 run that stretched well into the fourth quarter. Etherington started it with a 3-pointer, then made another 3 towards the end of the run. Kole Hornbuckle helped out with a three-point play to score the first points of the fourth quarter. The run put Southeastern up 60-35, and the Royals kept the lead around that margin for the remainder of the game.
Four players reached double figures for Southeastern: Majak led with 16 points, Etherington added 13 (including three 3-pointers), and Smith and Morris both
contributed 11. Grubbs pulled 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists, while Smith
dished out eight assists and collected five rebounds.
Johnson scored 14 points for the Millers, while Keever-Hill and Hines both had eight points, including two 3s each. KeeverHill handed out eight assists, and Schmidt, Hines and Hunt all grabbed three rebounds.
“Overall, disappointing loss, but it gives us a lot of things we know we can work
on,” said McCauley.
The Royals are 3-2 in the HCC and 11-5 overall. Their next game is also a home conference game: Southeastern welcomes Franklin Central on Thursday.
Noblesville is 1-4 in the HCC and 8-7 overall. The Millers return home to The
Mill tonight to take on Class 4A No. 10 Logansport.