Hamilton Southeastern boys basketball coach Brian Satterfield called it a nice win.
Actually, the way the Royals battled through some low points until coming together after the first 3 minutes of the second half, the operative word on last Saturday night’s contest should have been ‘GREAT’…. as in GREAT WIN.
It really was that for all practical purposes — with HSE sending a solid Pendleton Heights squad home a 56-46 loser — and the unbeaten Royals moving to 4-0.
Once the Royals were in sync and turned on the pressure, it was like WOW, game on!
They really had their rhythm!
Senior Greg Miller, who finished with 11 points, was fouled on a thunderous baseline dunk that shook the backboard, and he converted the 3-point play to cut the Pendleton Heights lead to 24-21 at halftime.
Talk about getting everyone’s attention!
“That was the one thing that really seemed to ignite us,’’ Satterfield said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well early on and they did. And I tried to do some different things defensively and it didn’t work at first, so that’s on me.
“But, Miller really got us going. That showed us what we needed to do. From there, we really answered the call. But we always tell them never settle, never settle.’’
There was no SETTLE in these Royals.
HSE took a 36-35 lead into the final quarter.
Even with star forward Zach Gunn on the bench with 4 personal fouls from the 1:56 mark of the third quarter to 4:09 remaining in the contest, the Royals were still able to show their mettle.
“We have a lot of depth,’’ Satterfield said. “I thought we more efficient defensively. We got better looks in the second half offensively, too. They are good defensively team. You have to keep attacking. And we brought a lot of pressure, and we did just that.’’
The Arabians really had no answer.
Junior Jack Davidson, who was selected the HSE Player of the Game, was fouled while making a 3-pointer and converted the 4-point play to give HSE a 43-42 lead at the 4:38 mark.
Davidson, who had a 8 points in the final period, made 2 free throws for a 52-42 HSE edge with 54.7 ticks left. He finished with 13 points, and also drilled a trio of treys, and dished out 3 assists.
Gunn, who had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots — delivered 7 points, highlighted by a 3-pointer — and 4 rebounds in the final quarter. His bomb from the deep corner gave HSE another big boost at 46-42 lead with 3:18 showing, and a lead the Royals never relinquished.
The Royals fought hard on the boards from the get-go. And Satterfield said his coaches told him they didn’t give up an offensive rebound. He said that’s a pretty special accomplishment.
Indeed….pretty much unheard of, you know.
“We’re still pretty young and still learning, and we’ll have a nice challenge on Saturday at North Central,’’ Satterfield said “And we’ll see where we’re at.’’
Following the (Dec. 12) showdown at No. 2 North Central, No. 20 HSE meets Fishers (3-0) in the ‘Collision at the Coliseum’ at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum on Dec. 18, and then the Royals return home on Dec. 21 to meet Park Tudor, which is No. 7 in the state IBCA poll, and No. 1 in Class 3A.
I guess you might say that the Royals still face some “nice’’ early-season challenges.
