Harris Delivers Remarkable Effort, Buzzer-Beater 3-Point Goal As No. 1 HSE Stuns North Central
Published February 29, 2012 | 
Southeastern fans had a lot to shout and cheer about at The Mill in Noblesville on Tuesday night/HC Sports Daily photos: Shawn Barney.
Give Gary Harris the ball with a few ticks remaining, and the game on the line, and usually good things happen.
Jacobby Bledsoe and Gary Harris react after teaming up for a key defensive stop that led to the victory.
The 6-foot-5 Hamilton Southeastern senior banked in a 3-pointer from 30 feet to beat Noblesville in overtime last season at The Mill. He repeated his last-second heroics, this time in regulation, with a much longer 3-point bank shot to stun Class 4A No. 3 North Central 86-83 in regulation in the Sectional 8 opener at the Mill on Tuesday night.
Both times, the ball softly floated over the top of the rim and gently kissed in off the glass.
| SECTIONAL 8 Tonight’s Games
6 p.m. – Carmel 16-4) vs. Westfield (11-9) 7:30 p.m. – Fishers (11-9) vs. Zionsville (14-6) |
Both times, the Hamilton Southeastern fans stormed the floor.
Neither was for a championship, but Tuesday night’s game certainly seemed like it. It was an electric atmosphere. Doubt that anyone had dry palms in the end. It certainly lived up to the hype.
“Now, we’ve got to come down from this emotional high and get ready for Noblesville on Friday. They’ll be ready for us, and will come at us with everything they have,’’ Harris said.
HSE coach Brian Satterfield can't believe a late call.
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 4,000 was left breathless. It was a war. You knew it would be. It was a game of runs, and plenty of gut-check. There were 10 ties, and HSE’s biggest lead was eight points midway through the second quarter. North Central, which led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, led at all stops but the one that counted, and the Panthers were outscored 29-20 in the fourth quarter.
All three games were in the 80s this season, with No. 1 Southeastern winning the final two against the Panthers, who finished the season 19-6.
It was a remarkable game, and a remarkable finish by a remarkable player.
Harris made a spinning move between two defenders after getting the inbound pass with 4.6 seconds on the clock. He got it off about two steps inside the half-court stripe just as the clock show 1 second.
“It was out farther than I wanted, but they did a good job keeping me that far out and there was enough time to do anything else. I was able to get a good look, though. When I let it go, I can’t honestly say I knew it was in. It felt good, and it was on line,’’ said Harris, who scored 35 points and became Southeastern’s career scoring leader.
Entering play, he needed only 10 points to surpass Jack Roudebush, a 1970 graduate who had 1,465 points. Harris now has 1,491 points.
No. 10 Guerin Wins Inaugural 3A Sectional Game
Published February 29, 2012 | Hamilton County Sports Daily
Guerin Catholic coach Pete Smith cheers on his Golden Eagles Tuesday night in the Mt. Vernon Sectional/HC Sports Daily photos: Jon Hartley.
Class 3A No. 10 Guerin Catholic High School won its inaugural game in the 3A state tournament, defeating host Mt. Vernon 35-28
Sophomore Aaron Brennan goes up for a shot underneath the basket. He finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles (18-5) advance to Friday night’s second semifinal game against Howe Academy 7-13). Bishop Chatard (14-8) takes Brebeuf Jesuit (10-9) in Friday’s opener.
The Golden Eagles trailed 15-13 at halftime, but outscored the No. 14-ranked Marauders 22-13 in the second half. It was tied at 20 late in the third quarter.
Trailblazers Win Class A Tourney Opener
Published February 29, 2012 | Hamilton County Sports Daily
Host University held off Bethesda Christian 55-45 in the opener of Class A Sectional 58
University junior Jordan Pickett had 35 points, and made all 17 free throws/HC Sports Daily file photo.
on Tuesday night.
The Trailblazers (16-4) advance to meet Indiana Deaf (6-15) in Friday’s first semifinal.
University only led 33-32 after three quarters.
“The defense really carried us tonight. In the fourth quarter, our press really hurt Bethesdsa , causing turnovers and also forcing them to take some tough shots, and we were able to convert. We scored 22 (points),’’ coach Paul Gianakos said.
University made 24-of-30 free throws compared to 6-of-13 for Bethesda Christian.
Hamilton County scoring leader Jordan Pickett had 35 points for the Trailblazers, and wa sa perfect 17-of-17 from the free-throw stripe.
Grant Randle was next with 8 points. Kevin Bates netted 5 points; Mitch Tanner scored 4; and Mason Webber added 3 points.
Greyhounds Hang On For 3rd State Title In Row
Published February 27, 2012 |
Carmel High School senior Zech Banks won the 100-yard breaststroke and was fifth in the 200 individual medley/HC Sports Daily photos: Jeff Engel.
The rest of the state may be catching up to the Carmel High School boys swimming program, but catching up and passing the Greyhounds are two different things.
Carmel won its third straight IHSAA State Swimming & Diving Championship by the narrowest of margins on Saturday at the Indiana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus.
The final read: 246.5 points for the top-ranked Greyhounds, and 245for runner-up Bloomington South. It was the closest finish since 1989, when Anderson defeated Bloomington South 181-180.
Junior Max McKay gave Camel a second-place finish in the 100-yard backstroke.
| BOYS STATE SWIMMING
Team scores, event summary on Scoreboard |
The team race went down to the final event, the 400 freestyle relay with Carmel owning a 11.5-point lead over Bloomington South.
The Panthers, who were seeking the school’s first state swim title since 1972, won the race, collecting 40 points. The Greyhounds got 30 points for their fourth-place finish.
Carmel’s depth and senior Zech Banks’ victory in the 100 breaststroke (56.00), the second to last event, proved critical as Bloomington South earned the majority of its points by sweeping the three relays.
Banks, a transfer from North Central, was the county’s lone champion. He also was fifth in the 200 individual medley.
In winning, the Greyhounds won Carmel’s sixth state championship in the 2011-12 season, matching the single-season record the school set in 2010-11. It was Carmel’s 14th overall boys state championship in swimming and third under coach Chris Plumb.
TOURNEY TIME: County Teams Gearing Up!
Published February 26, 2012 | 
2011-12 Sectionals: >>>Coaches Share Thoughts>>>Player Statistics>>>Pairings: Click on continue reading
The sectional round of the Indiana high school boys basketball tournament could hold a great deal of promise for Hamilton County schools.
Nine county schools are spread out in five different sectionals, and county schools own the best records at four sites.
Hamilton County
Boys Basketball
Records, Averages
Feb. 28-29, March 2-3
| Teams | W | L | Off | Def |
| Hamilton SE | 20 | 2 | 74.3 | 59.5 |
| Guerin Catholic | 17 | 5 | 62.5 | 51.8 |
| Carmel | 16 | 4 | 56.4 | 46.8 |
| University | 15 | 4 | 64.1 | 52.9 |
| Sheridan | 14 | 7 | 63.3 | 55.7 |
| Noblesville | 13 | 9 | 58.5 | 52.1 |
| Fishers | 11 | 9 | 61.2 | 54.1 |
| Westfield | 11 | 9 | 55.5 | 51.9 |
| Hamilton Heights | 8 | 12 | 57.5 | 62.5 |
Only Hamilton Heights in Class 3A Sectional 24 at Muncie has a losing record (8-12), but the Huskies also drew a bye.
Class 4A No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern is 20-2 at Sectional 8 in Noblesville; Guerin Catholic, playing its first year in Class 3A, is 17-5 at Sectional 26 at Mt. Vernon; Sheridan is 14-7 and owns the bye at Class 2A Sectional 38 at Fountain Central; and University, the Class A Sectional 58 host school, is 15-4.
Still, there’s no mistaking where the toughest sectional resides, with the state’s biggest first-round collision on the opening-night menu.
So, for those who like to witness challenges and intimidation and emotion and brute force and slam dunks, well, welcome to Sectional 8 at The Mill in Noblesville.
Not only is it a wide-open shootout, but three of the top five teams in the state are in the field (No. 1 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 3 North Central, No. 4 Carmel). You won’t find such a power-packed field, not to mention an opening game with at least three Div. I players on each team, anywhere else.
Some might refer to the third HSE-North Central game (the teams split) a fun game. That’s probably not the way HSE’s Brian Satterfield and North Central’s Doug Mitchell see it. It’s quite simply a survivor-of-the-fittest scenario, where you’d better bring your ‘A‘ game if you hope to have a chance to play on.
Yep, one of the state’s premier basketball teams will feel the sting on Tuesday night . . . and then regroup . . . and start thinking about next season.
Reimer, Weatherford Head Hamilton County Sports Daily Girls Basketball Honor Team
Published February 25, 2012 | 
HSE's Taya Reimer/HC Sports Daily photo: Mark Morrow.
Hamilton Southeastern, which was unbeaten in the regular season, placed three players on the second annual Hamilton County
Hamilton Heights' Dakota Weatherford
Sports Daily Basketball Honor Team, led by co-Player of the Year Taya Reimer, a 6-4 junior who shared the honor with 5-5 Hamilton Heights junior guard Dakota Weatherford.
First-year Hamilton Heights coach Tod Windlan, who led the Lady Huskies to the school’s second sectional crown and first since the 2002-03 season, was selected Coach of the year.
The team is made up of eight underclassmen among the top 15 players selected.
| GIRLS BASKETBALL HONOR TEAM
>>>Click on Honor Teams (above red car) for complete list |
Fishers’ Destiny Washington and Noblesville’s Jessica Kiser were the only sophomores selected.
Lady Huskies coach Tod Windlan/HC Sports Daily (Hamilton Heights) photos: Shawn Barney.
Windlan, who is 104-78 in eight years of coaching, led a young Hamilton Heights team to a 21-5 won-loss record. That’s also a school-record number of victories for the Lady Huskies.
Windlan credits “wonderful team chemistry’’ for this season’s success, and said that it is a reflection of Dakota Weatherford.
Weatherford averaged 22.2 points and scored a school record-high 41 points. She also was second in rebounds and assists, and led the state in steals with 183 (7.04) per game.
No. 1 Royals Impressive In Sectional Tuneup
Published February 25, 2012 | 
Drew Robinson, a member of the Royals varsity basketball team, went into cardiac arrest in a Hamilton Southeastern classroom, and an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) was used to resuscitate him before the start of the season. Though he was unable to play this season, the senior suited up and started on Senior Night. A play was set up off the jump ball so he would be able to score an uncontested basket. In return, Lafayette Jeff was allowed to score a basket. The crowd appreciated the gesture made by HSE, which was agreed upon by Lafayette Jeff and the referees/HC Sports Daily photos: Steve Risley.
Senior Night was quite a festive, productive and memorable occasion at Hamilton Southeastern High School on Friday night.
Southeastern senior Gary Harris delivers one of his five dunks. He led all scorers with 26 points.
The two-time defending state golf champion girls received their rings.
Gary Harris was honored by McDonald’s for being one of 24 players in the nation named as an All-American and participant in the 2012 McDonald’s All-American High School Game in Chicago, Ill., on March 28.
And the Royals basketball team closed regular-season play with a perfect Hoosier Crossroads Conference and home gymnasium record, a school-record 14-game winning streak and a 20-2 record, matching last year’s school-best mark for the boys basketball program.
And, oh yes, Harris finished as the top scorer in the conference for the second consecutive year, and the Royals looked tournament ready in their 97-52 romp over Lafayette Jeff.
Harris, playing about half the game, finished with 26 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and a handful of thunderous dunks, and the 6-foot-5, Michigan State recruit will go into the sectional needing only 10 points to become the school’s career scoring leader.
Harris has scored 526 this season and 1,456 for a career. The leader at 1,465 points is 1970 graduate Jack Roudebush. Continue reading
Carmel Finishes Strong, Posts 16-4 Record
Published February 25, 2012 | Hamilton County Sports Daily
Carmel's Zach McRoberts goes up for a shot while teammate James Crowley is squeezed in the middle/George Sinnis/courtesy: kidsportphotos/For HC Sports Daily.
Carmel will roll into Sectional 8 on a high next Wednesday against Westfield.
The Greyhounds' James Volovic knocks the ball away under the basket.
The 4A No. 4 Greyhounds moved to 16-4 on the season with a 63-32 conquest of visiting Brebeuf Jesuit on Friday night.
It’s also Carmel’s most regular-season wins since 18 in the 2007-08 season, and it was second-year coach Scott Heady’s first winning season. The Hounds finished 10-13 a year ago.
The Greyhounds built a 10-point halftime lead and outscored the Braves 36-15 in the second half, including 21-6 in the third quarter.
They led by as many as 32 points, 61-29 early in the final quarter.
Carmel’s guns were blazing to the tune of 66.7 shooting, and the Greyhounds held the Braves to 23.5 shooting.
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