by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

In a basketball game where there’s not much between the two teams, any run is big
and one run can make the difference.

So it was for Carmel in its semi-final victory over Hamilton Southeastern at the
Class 4A Noblesville sectional Friday night at The Mill. The No. 10-ranked Greyhounds
scored eight unanswered points in a run that bridged the second and third quarters, and
that gave Carmel enough separation to get past the Royals, 62-56.

The ‘Hounds will play Fishers at 7:30 p.m. tonight for the Sectional 8
championship.

The game was tied at 10-all after the first quarter, with Cole Jenkins scoring seven
points for Carmel and Chaz Birchfield chipping in six points for Southeastern. The
Greyhounds jumped ahead 15-10 at one point in the second period, but the Royals
were within one point on three different occasions late in the quarter, including after
a Birchfield layin put HSE within 22-21.

Eddie Gill got the last basket of the half, a putback that put Carmel up 24-21. That
would be the start of the Greyhounds’ 8-0 run, although they would have to wait until
the second half for it to continue.

Once the half began, John Michael Mulloy scored on a basket, then Luke Heady
made four consecutive free throws. With that, Carmel led 30-21.

“You talk about the six straight points, and yeah, we scored, but I think the biggest
thing was we stopped them three straight times and that’s big for us,” said Carmel
coach Ryan Osborn. “They have some firepower over there.”
Southeastern coach Brian Satterfield agreed that the Greyhounds getting that
separation at the start of the third was a turning point.

“Then we’re having to play from behind a little bit,” said Satterfield. “When we tried
to gamble a little bit, it didn’t pay off for us and they got some easy buckets. They were
able to knock down free throws down the stretch.”

Aaron Etherington ended the run with a 3-pointer, and the game continued roughly
basket-for-basket for most of the second half. The Royals got their closest with 3:50
left in the fourth period, after two Birchfield free throws got HSE within 47-43.
But the ‘Hounds went off on a 10-4 run to all but clinch the game. Mulloy converted
a three-point play, then Heady added five more points, with a free throw pushing
Carmel up to its biggest lead, 57-47 with 33.6 seconds left. The Royals threw in three
3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the game, but the Greyhounds were able to
neutralize those baskets at the foul line, making 5-of-6 free throws.

“I think our guys have matured a lot over the year,” said Osborn. “Just different
situations, different environments. We’ve played some tough games against some
really good teams with some different atmospheres. I think early we didn’t handle
those situations very well. Now that we’ve gone through it as a group together, they’ve
learned how to keep their composure a little better and that makes a difference.”

Jenkins led the way for Carmel with 19 points and six rebounds, while Heady’s
11-of-14 performance from the line was a big part of his 16 points. Mulloy added 14
points, along with six rebounds and two blocked shots. Osborn said Mulloy “played
like a veteran” at the end of the game.

“And Cole Jenkins was a leader,” said Osborn. “He was a senior leader tonight that
controlled the game and made great decisions and got everybody involved and knew when to back it out and take some time off the clock.”

Birchfield had a sensational game for HSE, with 23 points and four rebounds.
Noah Smith added 13 points, while Etherington scored 11 (including three 3-
pointers) and grabbed four rebounds as well.

“The thing that I love and admire about our guys is, we played hard,” said
Satterfield. “We knew it would be a dogfight, but the kids played hard,” said
Satterfield. “They didn’t give up.”

Carmel is now 17-7, while Southeastern finished its season 17-8.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers rolled into the championship game of the Class 4A Noblesville sectional
with a 72-58 semi-final win over Anderson in the first Friday night semi-final.

The Tigers led 12-9 after the first quarter, then leaped ahead 30-19 by halftime.
Jeremy Szilagyi got hot in the second period, scoring 10 points, including two 3-pointers.
The Indians stayed with Fishers in the third quarter, but were only able to cut the
Tigers’ lead to 45-35 by the end of the period. Fishers then poured in 27 points in
the fourth quarter, with Szilagyi draining two more 3s and scoring 12 in the period.

Szilagyi’s grand totals for the game were 22 points and four 3-pointers. The senior
was the first of four Tigers in double figures. Josiah Matthews added 15 points, while
Terry Hicks scored 13. Both scored eight points in one quarter, with Hicks scoring that
number in the third period and Matthews getting eight in the fourth.
Willie Jackson added 10 points. Fishers was most impressive from the free throw
line in the second half, making all 14 of its  foul shots.

The Tigers are now 12-11 and play No. 10-ranked Carmel in tonight’s championship
game.

The arts and the Fishers recognition of Disability Awareness Month merged Friday night into a special event.  Those with disabilities displayed their art work and some pieces were sold to the many potential customers roaming the corridors of City Hall.

The Fishers Community Chorus sang seven different pieces of music during the program.

The event was sponsored by the City of Fishers, Nickel Plate Arts and the Fishers Arts Council.

Below is some of the art work displayed at City Hall:

Here is a small sample of the Fishers Community Chorus performance:

Here is the third installment in my March series of mini-podcasts featuring personal stories tied to Disability Awareness Month

The new Spark!Fishers summer festival is continuing its work and is now to the point where the organizers are soliciting units and floats for the parade and vendors for the planned street fair.

You will find various ways to become involved with the event at this link.

If your business or organization is interested in participating in the Spark!Fishers parade, check out this link.

If you have any interest in being a part of the street fair, use this link.

The inaugural Spark!Fishers Festival is slated for Friday, June 29th and Saturday, June 30th.

The celebration will be centered in the downtown Fishers Nickel Plate District.

One thing about being retired is being able to take trips to Florida in February.  Another thing is when you wife is also retired and you can go together to Florida in February.  When your adult daughters are able to join, and you can visit relatives as well as attend a family wedding on Amelia Island, you know that trip was a good one.  And it was.

When you are away from home for a period of time, you miss a few things.  I have attempted to stay connected with Fishers while away.  But something has happened since my return and it is a sad development.

My daughter Allison is a graduate of Anderson University, so for four years I visited the city of Anderson more often than I had before.  One thing you see is the remnants of what had once been a thriving city booming economically with a large General Motors presence and is still recovering from the huge auto maker’s decision to leave Anderson many years ago.

I found retirees with UAW union shirts talking at lunch about the past and the sad state of Anderson now.  I know the city is trying very hard to recover, and they have had some success in attracting jobs and development but its’s a tall hill to climb.

Then I got the news that the Mounds Mall will be closing and it hit me that this will be just another punch in the gut to Anderson.  If you have visited the mall lately, you could see it has not been doing well and has been further victimized by the general downturn in the brick-and-mortar stores & shopping malls.

I feel for those impacted by the closing of the Mounds Mall.  But I started to think about a comment made by Senator Joe Donnelly when appearing in Fishers several months ago to receive a national award from the Chamber of Commerce.

Donnelly told the crowd that Anderson has benefited by the rapid growth of Fishers.  People unable to find work in Anderson are apparently finding employment in Fishers and commuting from Anderson to Fishers, according to the senator.

So, even though things are tough at home, some Anderson residents are remaining in their home town and commuting to jobs in Fishers.  What would have ever imagined Anderson could get a boost from Fishers?

We are not in spring season year and the month of March is just underway, but road construction is already busy throughout the city and its environs…..here’s the list for the work week starting Monday, March 5th, as provided by the City of Fishers:

=============================

Eastbound 116th Street between Charleston Crossing and Maple Drive will be restricted to one lane on Thursday, March 8. Arrow boards will be in place to direct traffic.

106TH STREET   

106th Street is closed to through traffic from Allisonville Road to Hague Road for the 106th Street Infrastructure project.

131ST STREET   

Periodic lane restrictions will occur at the intersection of 131st Street and Cumberland Road as utility relocation work is completed.

Expect lane restrictions, weather permitting, along 131st Street between Allisonville Road and Lantern Road to allow for tree clearing prior to the construction of the Conner Trail from Conner Prairie to the Municipal Complex. Lane restrictions will also take place on Lantern Road between 131st Street and Municipal Drive.

136TH STREET   

Lane restrictions will be in place, weather permitting, along 136th Street between Southeastern Parkway and Prairie Baptist Road beginning the week of Monday, February 26, to allow for tree clearing prior to the construction of a new roundabout.

MEADOWS DRIVE   

Meadows Drive is closed between Frances Drive and Morgan Drive, weather permitting, for the installation of sanitary sewer.

ELLER ROAD   

Eller Road is closed to through traffic south of 106th Street. Also, the intersection of 106th Street and Eller Road will be closed for 2 to 3 weeks for the 106th Street Infrastructure project.

MAPLE STREET   

Lane restrictions will occur just north of 116th Street for storm sewer installation (weather permitting).

126TH STREET   

Expect possible lane restrictions on 126th Street from Allisonville Road to the railroad tracks while aerial utility work is completed.

ALLISONVILLE ROAD RESURFACING & INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT  

Lane restrictions will be in place, as weather permits, along Allisonville Road from 126th Street to 131st Street for tree clearing ahead of the start of the roadway expansion project. Restrictions will be in place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and flaggers will be on site directing traffic, as necessary. For more info on this project, view the Fact Sheet.

MORGAN DRIVE   

Morgan Drive is restricted to one lane between Lantern Road and Emmanual Court for work on stormwater structures.

106TH STREET   

Expect lane restrictions at the 106th Street and Crosspoint/Lantern Road roundabout as utility work is completed.

The westbound lane of 106th Street (just east of Allisonville Road) will be closed until utilities are located. Westbound traffic on 106th Street will be forced to turn north.

I-69   

As part of a $92 million design-build contract, Milestone has added a third lane in each direction to the median, repaired and resurfaced existing pavement, and rehabilitated bridges and drainage structures on 15 miles of I-69 in Hamilton and Madison counties. Construction of an additional auxiliary lane between the 116th Street entrance ramp to I-69 South and the I-69 South Exit 204 ramp to 106th Street will continue through next spring.

I-69 South will be temporarily reduced to two lanes to allow space for the State Road 37 and 116th Street entrance ramps to safely merge while construction continues on the southbound auxiliary lane between the 116th Street and 106th Street ramps.

Questions about this project should be directed to INDOT via email or at 1-855-463-6848.

STATE ROAD 37  

The Meeting Minutes and Meeting Presentation from the December State Road 37 Project Public Meeting, along with additional project information is available.

The State Road 37 improvement project is a $124 million joint project between Fishers, Hamilton County, Noblesville, and INDOT. Questions or concerns may be directed via email to Drive Fishers.

As part of Disability Awareness Month, I have partnered with local groups to produce a series of podcasts where local people tell their stories.  Here is the second installment in that series:

March is Disability Awareness Month, and I will be featuring a series of mini-podcasts with local people telling their stories about dealing with disabilities. The first mini-podcast features Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s Amaya Hamilton is one of 24 players that have been
selected for the IndyStar Indiana girls Junior All-Stars for 2018.

Hamilton is in the Central group, which also includes Jordyn Barga of Monroe
Central, Cyndi Dodd of Warren Central, Carissa Garcia of Fort Wayne Concordia,
Sylare Starks of Homestead and Cameron Tabor of New Castle.

Players in the core group include Jorie Allen of Bedford North Lawrence, Shaila
Beeler of Warren Central, Rikki Harris of North Central, Lilly Hatton of North
Harrison, Maddie Nolan of Zionsville and Hannah Noveroske of Michigan City.

The North group players are Sydney Freeman of Central Noble, Tai-Yanna
Jackson of East Chicago Central, Morgan Litwiller of Northridge, Riley Ott of LaPorte
and Emma and Sophia Nolan of Marquette Catholic.

The South group players are Addy Blackwell of Bloomington South, Trinity
Brady of Lawrence North, Savaya Brockington of North Central, Kinnidy
Garrard of Pike, Makinzi Meurer of North Knox and Grace Waggoner of Vincennes
Rivet.

The coaches for the Junior All-Stars have not yet been announced.

The Junior All-Stars will play two games against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars
on June 1 and June 2 at sites to be announced. The Junior All-Stars also will
play one game against the Indiana All-Star senior girls on June 6, also at a site to be
announced. All three games will be doubleheaders with the 2018 Indiana boys
Junior All-Stars, who will be chosen during March.

The players listed as core group players will play in all three games. The players
listed as South group will join the Core group and play against the Kentucky Juniors
in Kentucky (on June 1). The Central group and North group also will join the Core
group and play one time each — either against Kentucky Juniors in Indiana
(on June 2) or against the Indiana Seniors (on June 6). The night and opponent for the Central and North groups will be determined later.

The Indiana senior All-Stars will play the Kentucky senior All-Stars on June 8 at
a site in Kentucky that has not yet been announced. The Indiana senior All-Stars
will play Kentucky’s seniors again on June 9 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Junior All-Star team is determined by the 20-member Indiana Basketball Coaches Association all-state panel in conjunction with its selection of the IBCA/Subway Underclass All-State Team. The selection process allows all IBCA-member head coaches to nominate players through the IBCA all-state process. Representatives from 16 regional areas from across the state, three district representatives from the three IHSAA districts (one each from District 1,
District 2 and District 3) and the committee chair then meet to review the
nominations, vote and finalize the selections.

The IBCA/Subway girls basketball Senior All-State and Underclass All-State teams for 2018 will be released later this week.