Boys sectionals: Zionsville's D stifles Noblesville

CARMEL – Zionsville's 2-3 zone appeared to be an optical illusion to Noblesville on Wednesday night.

The Millers poked and prodded, passing around the perimeter and inside to attempt to get better looks. In the end, Noblesville could only muster a late rally that fell short as Zionsville advanced to the Class 4A Sectional 8 semifinals with a 47-41 win.

"They are a good defensive team," Noblesville coach Brian McCauley said. "You can ask Pike, ask McCutcheon. When you have 7-foot, 6-9 and 6-6 on the baseline … they are a good defensive team."

Zionsville (19-6) won a sectional game for just the second time since 2002, playing from ahead nearly the entire way. Jake Mann led the Eagles with 14 points and Derrik Smits added 11. The reward for Zionsville is a date in the semifinals on Friday with Hamilton Southeastern, which pounded Westfield 64-34 in Friday's opener.

HSE (8-16) lost at Zionsville 38-37 five weeks ago. Friday's first semifinal, at 6 p.m., will be third-ranked Carmel (20-2) against Fishers (13-10).

"It's going to be a battle," Zionsville coach Shaun Busick said of the HSE game. "They are the best under .500 team in the state. They could beat any of us. They could beat us, Carmel or Fishers."

Zionsville, which hasn't won a sectional title since 1995, led 41-30 with 2:31 left after freshman Riley Bertram made one of two free throws. The Millers then, finally, mounted a rally. John Kiser hit back-to-back baskets, Josh Gentry made 1-of-2 free throws after a steal and Sean Wilson buried a 3-pointer.

All of a sudden, Zionsville lead was just 42-38 with 41 seconds left.

"We knew they weren't going to be easy," Busick said. "Give them credit because they were down 11 and kept coming back."

Zionsville went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to seal it. Kiser, a 6-5 junior who was watched by Western Michigan on Wednesday, led Noblesville with 14 points (including 10 in the fourth quarter). Senior guard Jake Mills added 11 points and Wilson had nine.

"Mills hit some big shots at the end," Busick said. "He's been one of my favorite players I've coached against. That game meant a lot to him and he really battled."

Bertram had nine points for Zionsville and Braden Hall added eight. The Eagles were 20-for-28 from the free-throw line, while Noblesville was just 3-for-4.

In the first game, Hamilton Southeastern was tied with Westfield early in the second quarter of its game before blowing out the Shamrocks with a 30-6 run over the next 11-plus minutes.

Sophomore standout Zach Gunn, who was watched by Butler assistant Emerson Kampen on Wednesday, finished with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds to lead HSE. The 6-6 Gunn helped the Royals to a sectional title as a freshman, but said it took a few minutes for the nerves to wear off.

"It was good to get it out of the way," he said. "I told the guys before the game that it's OK to be nervous."

Chris Ford added 17 points and six rebounds for HSE, which outrebounded Westfield (4-19) by 15. Charlie Warner led the Shamrocks with 14 points and Sawyer Olsen added 13.

"The second half we were a lot better defensively," HSE coach Brian Satterfield said. "We had more active hands and that allowed us to get some easy buckets in transition."

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

HAMILTON SE 64, WESTFIELD 34

Westfield (4-19) – Tebbe 0 0-0 0, Osswald 1 1-2 4, Kristensen 0 0-0 0, Warner 5 2-2 14, Olsen 6 0-2 13, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Lynch 1 1-1 3, Nicole 0 0-0 0, Ward 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 4-7 34.

Hamilton Southeastern (8-16) – Ford 8 0-1 17, Gunn 8 3-3 22, Poiry 1 0-0 2, Janney 1 0-0 2, Scholl 4 1-1 9, Davidson 0 0-0 0, Rotterman 0 0-0 0, Holzum 1 0-0 2, Miller 1 0-0 2, Bembry 1 0-0 2, Burns 0 0-0 0, Schofield 2 2-2 6. Totals: 20 22-30 65.

3-point goals: Westfield 4 (Warner 2, Osswald, Olsen), Hamilton Southeastern 4 (Gunn 3, Ford).

ZIONSVILLE 47, NOBLESVILLE 41

Zionsville (19-6) – Bertram 2 3-4 9, Mann 4 4-4 14, Hall 2 3-4 8, Smits 2 7-10 11, Smits-Francisco 0 0-0 0, Pappas 1 1-4 3, Cox 0 2-2 2, Gardner 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 20-28 47.

Noblesville (13-11) – Wilson 4 0-0 9, Cory 0 0-0 0, Mills 4 0-0 11, Kiser 6 2-2 14, Brewer 1 0-0 2, Herron 2 0-0 4, Plumer 0 1-2 1, Resch 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 3-4 41.

3-point goals: Zionsville 5 (Bertram 2, Mann 2, Hall), Noblesville 4 (Mills 3, Wilson).