First round? ‘That should be a state championship game.’ No. 1 Fishers holds off No. 3 Westfield
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There were no nets cut down after Tuesday’s first-round sectional game at Carmel, but it felt like there should have been. No. 1 and defending Class 4A state champion Fishers held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by No. 3 Westfield for a 54-47 victory in Sectional 8. The prize? Survival. The only thing that matters this time of year.
“I thought it was a great, great high school basketball game,” Fishers coach Garrett Winegar said. “You just hate to see it on the first night of the sectional.”
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The sentiment was shared by Westfield coach Shane Sumpter, who saw his team rally from a 13-point deficit to cut it to 50-47 with 1:01 left. The sellout crowd of more than 3,500 fans was at full throat as the Shamrocks nearly forced a steal, then were forced to foul Cooper Zachary, who knocked down both free throws.
On the next Westfield possession, Nathan Baker dove to the floor at midcourt and was able to corral the ball and get a timeout. JonAnthony Hall added the exclamation point with a dunk to allow Fishers to move into Friday night’s semifinal game against Zionsville (12-12).
“Five guys have to do their job,” Winegar said of Baker’s steal. “(Justin Kirby) had a good denial and we had good on-ball pressure. Then we had a deflection, and Bake gets on the floor. It’s usually not just one guy who makes that play. A lot of guys made that play at the most important time.”
Fishers (25-0) has won 38 consecutive games, a streak that has come with its share of close calls. One came earlier this season against Westfield, when the Tigers had to rally from a 15-point second half deficit for a 67-64 win. Hall, who led Fishers with 18 points, said he could sense the confidence from Westfield even before the game started.
“That swagger only seemed to grow after Drew Haffner drilled a couple of long 3-pointers in the first quarter,” Hall said. “When teams match up against us, you can see their captains and see it’s like almost fake tough. But I looked at all three of them and they all seemed like they felt they could beat us. I think their confidence is what caught me the most.”
Fishers led 26-22 at halftime and seemed to take control with a third quarter run that included an alley-oop from sophomore Jason Gardner Jr. to Hall. Fishers led by 11 points going into the fourth quarter.
The Shamrocks nearly forces a steal, then were forced to foul Cooper Zachary, who knocked down both free throws.
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By Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star,
21 hours ago
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