By Todd Lancaster
Often patience and maturity are the keys to success in tournament basketball.
On Saturday, both of those virtues played a big part in the No. 6 Washington Hatchets return to the semistate round of the IHSAA tournament next Saturday.
In front of a crowd that was estimated at over 6,000, the Hatchets learned no big lead is really safe and no deficit can’t be overcome, even when things aren’t going your way.
In both wins, Washington’s 55-47 win over Boonville in the championship game, and 52-45 win over Corydon Central in the semifinal, the Hatchets had big leads slip away, but were still able to fight back through a period of stone-cold shooting to win and advance.
“I thought both games were kind of similar, because we jumped out to big leads and it kind of withered away from us,” said WHS coach Gene Miiller. “I thought our toughness really showed because after they made their runs, we kind of dug in and really went back after it.
“I think everyone played well. I was impressed with our grittiness and toughness. Cody (Zeller) was the heart and soul, Ethan (Hunsinger) and Dylan (Ervin) had really good games. Kurtis played well defensively. Everyone really played well. Our seniors gave us a lot.”
Much of that fight came from 6-10 junior Cody Zeller who ended the day with 50 points and 23 rebounds. However, in the middle of both dogfight fourth quarters, it was Zeller’s free throw shooting that might have been most impressive for the potential All-American. Zeller was 19-23 from the stripe for the day, going 7-8 against Corydon and 8-10 against Boonville in the final quarters.
“We shoot 50 free throws at 7:30 every morning and that was one of the things that helped us win the game today,” said Zeller.
The win against Boonville returns Washington to semistate for a second time in three years and sets a semistate matchup with No. 1 Danville.
In the Boonville game, the Hatchets looked unstoppable in the opening minutes of the game.
Zeller and 6-7 Robert Pittman did most of the early damage, as WHS pulled out to an 11-1 run. Along with a basket from Sam Gines and Dylan Ervin, WHS coasted to a 16-7 lead. However, after a pair of quick whistles on Zeller, Washington was without the services of their big man for the entire second quarter. During the quarter, Ervin and Ethan Hunsinger helped stem the Pioneer comeback with two baskets each, but a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Boonville’s Ryan Casey cut the margin to 25-19 at the half.
“I thought this was the kind of game I could play well in because I was guarding a bigger guy and I could use my quickness,” said Hunsinger.
Although Zeller returned in the third quarter, the Hatchet shooting touch did not. Just as in the third quarter of the Corydon game, when Washington went 1-12 earlier in the day, the Hatchets came out and missed their first eight shots.
During that time Boonville battled back to take a 32-25 lead.
Hatchet Kurtis Anthony finally broke the Hatchets’ scoring slump by hitting a 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining. Hunsinger added a pair of free throws that cut the lead to four and Zeller hit a trey at the horn to cut the Boonville lead to just one.
“I was just trying to get them to calm down and told them it is a long way from over,” said Miiller. “Just like in the afternoon, we had to get our run going. We continued to work hard on defense and get things going offensively.”
Boonville and Washington traded leads early in the fourth quarter, with Boonville leading for the final time with three minutes to go. Washington then went 8-9 down the stretch from the free throw line to ice the game.
In the final 18 seconds of the game, the most action may have occurred in the stands, as an unruly Boonville fan had to be removed by law enforcement after trying to start a fight in the seats behind the Washington bench.
Zeller ended the game with 21 points and nine boards, while Hunsinger and Ervin split 20. Pittman added six, five of which came in the first quarter, while Gines had five points, five assists and three steals. Anthony had three points and a pair of boards.
In the first game, Washington was led by Zeller’s 29 points and 14 rebounds. The Hatchets had a 25-15 lead after one and led 28-17 at the half. However, WHS had a tremendous slump in the third, going just 1-12 from the floor and allow Corydon to take a 30-29 lead, being outscored 12-4. The Hatchets then depended on solid free throw shooting down the stretch to secure the 52-45 win. Ervin had seven, Anthony added six and Gines had five. Pittman and Hunsinger also scored in the game.
Boonville won its opener, 54-35 over Sullivan.
No. 6 Washington (21-3) will play No. 1 Danville (25-1) next Saturday in the Southport Semistate. Danville ousted No. 3 Mount Vernon (Fortville) 47-43 in the Shelbyville Regional final.
