Etchison’s career night not enough against Maurauders

FORTVILLE – Tuesday night the Hamilton Heights Huskies traveled to take on the Mt. Vernon Marauders on the road. The Marauder fans were treated to a scoring exhibition from Huskies guard Gus Etchison as he scored 56 points for the Huskies.

Despite Etchison’s heroics, that was not enough for the Huskies to pull out the victory as the Marauders defeated the Huskies 80-71.

After falling behind 20-11 after the first quarter, the Huskies outscored Mt. Vernon 26-11 to take on 39-31 lead into halftime. However, the second half saw the Marauder offense start to catch fire. A 19-11 third quarter combined with a 30-point fourth sealed the win the Marauders. 

Along with his 56 points, Etchison also led the team in rebounding with 12 to end with a double-double.

The loss for the Huskies was their first of the season as their record now stands at 3-1. The Huskies will return to action on Friday as the hit the road again to take on Hoosier Conference opponent Lewis Cass.

Lady Rocks outlast Greyhounds in narrow victory

CARMEL – Tuesday night saw two Hamilton County opponents square off as the Lady Rocks of Westfield traveled to take on the Lady Greyhounds.

The game was tight nit throughout the game, but when the buzzer sounded at the end of the fourth quarter, it was the Rocks who took home a 51-48 win.

The Greyhounds held a 15-14 lead after the opening quarter of play, however a 15-9 quarter by the Rocks saw them take a 29-24 lead into halftime. The Greyhounds attempted to make a comeback in the second half as they outscored the Rocks 24-22, but the Rocks were able to hold on for the win.

Alyssa Crockett led the way for the Rocks as she scored 18 points in the win. Ashtin DeCraene also scored in double figures as she ended the game with 16 points and six rebounds.

Fatima Valiente and Kate Clarke both ended with 18 points for the Greyhound in the losing effort.

The loss for the Greyhounds drops their record to 3-6 on the season (0-2 MIC). The team will return to action Friday night as they travel to take on Brownsburg.

The win for the Lady Rocks evens up their record at 5-5 (0-2 HCC). They will be back in action also on Friday as they travel to Zionsville.

With the girls’ season nearing the midway point, and the boys’ season now two weeks in, players are starting to round out their games and show much more consistency. Big performances have seemingly become the norm this year, with last week being no different.

Garrett Senior Jayden Broadnax, Northwestern Senior Tayson Parker, New Albany Sophomore Tucker Biven, Oregon-Davis Junior Mercedes Rhodes, Anderson Junior Tyra Ford, and Trinity Lutheran Freshman Bailey Tabeling were selected as recipients for the week of Dec. 2-Dec.7 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

Broadnax is the boys’ winner and Rhodes is the girls’ winner for District-1. Parker and Ford are the recipients of the District-2 boys’ and girls’ awards, respectively. Biven is the boys’ honoree and Tabeling is the girls’ honoree for District-3.

Ever find yourself scratching your head when it comes to Noblesville football?

It’s easy to understand why some might even twitch a little while giving such a subject careful thought.

There are plenty of  thoughts to ponder about, and that includes past coaches who’ve been unable to win. Their overall team records tell the tale of what has NOT been achieved since 2001, the last time the Millers notched a winning record.

And what about coaching stability? Yep, you might say that’s a relevant concern.

The Noblesville Millers picked up a 52-45 victory over the Beech Grove Hornets on Saturday night in The Mill at Noblesville High School.

The game throughout the first half was very close between the two teams. The Millers held a 13-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Hornets then used a 15-13 quarter to take a slim 27-26 lead at halftime. 

The Millers then came out of the locker room with a new sense of energy and were able to clamp down on the defensive side, holding the Hornets to just 18 second-half points. 

Millers can’t sustain strong 1st quarter vs No. 5 Homestead

FT. WAYNE – The Noblesville Millers traveled to take on the No. 5 Homestead Spartans on Saturday and it looked as if the Millers were poised to upset the 6-0 Spartans. The Lady Millers came out strong and scored 20 first quarter points and held a 20-18 lead after the opening quarter. 

However the rest of the game, the Lady Millers struggled to maintain that strong start and the Spartans were able to run away with a 55-37 win. 

FISHERS – The Lady Royals defeated conference opponent Noblesville 51-32 to improve their record to 8-1 (3-0 HCC).

The Lady Royals game started off fast with the Royals jumping out to a 12-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. With the start of the second the Lady Royals saw several shots roll around the rim and fly out. With their lowest scoring quarter of the year, the Lady Royals were still able to go into half-time up 14-13. 

The start of the third quarter saw a quick change in momentum and the Lady Royals were off to a 24 point quarter. The Royals were able to dominate on both ends of the court. They outscored Noblesville by 14 and only gave up ten points. The energy continued into the fourth quarter and the Lady Royals were able secure their third conference win of the season.

Some items of interest:

Could some high school football changes be on the horizon?

Uh-huh, sure sounds like a possibility.

Bob Gaddis, the Executive Director of the Indiana Football Coaches Association and a 2-time state championship coach at Columbus East, replied to me via a text message this week and said that the IFCA will be surveying the membership on 2 possible proposals:

*—The addition of 8-man football . . . and the option of having a multi-school jamboree in place of the usual preseason scrimmage against another school. 

“The format for a multi-school jamboree would be similar to the scrimmage, but bring multiple teams to one site,’’ said Gaddis, the former Danville HS coach who will be entering his 20th year with a 204-40 as the Columbus East football coach.

Entering the Guerin Catholic wrestling room for the 2019-20 season, head coach Andrew Fleenor finds himself having to catch his breath. There seems to be a little less air in there.

The fourth year head coach is experiencing the largest turnout in his tenure. Eighteen wrestlers are on the Golden Eagle roster entering the season. Although Fleenor will gladly make room to add more, this squad may finally have the numbers needed to propel him to a winning season.
Guerin Catholic was close last year.