by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
If there’s one thing the Fishers boys basketball team can do, it’s win under tough circumstances.
The Tigers traveled to Westfield for a Thursday Hoosier Crossroads Conference game, and slowly took control in the third quarter to grab a 63-53 win over the Shamrocks at The Rock. Fishers got the win despite having two players out, and is now 5-1 in conference play, second to Zionsville’s 6-0 record.
Tigers coach Matt Moore noted that it was the third game in a row his team held an opponent under 55 points. The coach said it was a grind it out game, but Fishers seems to thrive in that situation.
Those aren’t the prettiest sometimes, but those are games that we can win,” said Moore. “And we’ve been able to win those a lot this year.”
Westfield led 15-12 after the first quarter. The Shamrocks had five different players score in that period, with Chris Chin and Caleb Welch both getting four points. Josiah Matthews had seven points, including a 3-pointer, to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
Fishers made its move in the second quarter, outscoring the ‘Rocks 16-9 to take a 28-24 lead. It was Willie Jackson’s turn to shine in that period, and he poured in 11 points.
The Tigers then turned it up in the third quarter, scoring 19 while holding Westfield to nine, going up 47-33. Jeffrey Simmons, who has quickly established himself as one of the better freshman players in the state, threw in 14 points.
The Shamrocks made a comeback in the fourth quarter, at one point cutting Fishers’ lead to eight points. Welch had an outstanding quarter, with 10 points, including two 3s. But the Tigers were carried through with their free throw shooting, making 12 of 17 in that period.
“They’re a team that has been competitive in nearly all their games, even the ones that they’ve lost,” said Moore of Westfield. The coach thought his team would have to make plays in the fourth quarter to get the lead, but Fishers had the lead well in hand by then.“
We were able to get to the free throw line a lot more in the second half,” said Moore. I thought Willie did a great job of, in that third quarter, hitting the free throw line. I thought Jeff did a really nice job of us establishing an inside presence. But I thought we shared the ball well tonight.”
Jackson made all six of his free throws on his way to 19 points. Simmons added 18 and Matthews scored 13 points.
The Tigers were without Justin Long, who was sick, and Terry Hicks, who has a broken fifth metatarsal in his foot. Moore said Hicks “will have surgery sometime next week,” and is looking at a four to six week recovery period.
“There’s an outside chance we get him back for the end of sectionals, potentially, and we’re holding out hope on that,” said Moore. “But it’s unfortunate for him.”
Hicks is a starter for Fishers, and Luke Hernandez started in his place. Hernandez played well in his role, scoring five points. Other players stepped up, such as Emmanuel Davis and Dominic Castellani.
“With losing Terry, it hurts us because of his versatility,” said Moore. “But at the same time, I think Luke steps in and does a great job. When Justin Long, who was sick tonight, is in there, he can do some things. Tonight I think Manny Davis, if we had a game ball to give, we’d give it to him just for his effort, his ability to stay on the floor and help make plays.”
Welch scored 19 points for the Shamrocks, with Zach Banks adding 10 points. Chin totaled eight points, and Camden Simons scored six. Braden Smith, also one of the better freshman players in the state, led Westfield in rebounding with eight, in addition to five points and four assists.
I thought we did a lot of good things the first half,” said Shamrocks coach Shane Sumpter.
“I thought we rebounded well, I thought we kept them out of the lane. The second half, a lot of those things disappeared is basically what happened. They came out strong the second half. They got a little bit of fire. They really hurt us inside. Jeff Simmons hurt us inside. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds the second half and we struggled to score. Give Fishers a lot of credit. Defensively, they’re really good. We just dug ourselves a hole.”
Fishers is 14-5 overall and is back in the Tiger Den Tuesday to host Anderson. Westfield is now 1-5 in the conference and 8-7 overall; the Shamrocks’ next game is also Tuesday, at Harrison.