INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in school history, the Fishers Tigers are IHSAA boys basketball state champions.
The Tigers took down the Ben Davis Giants 65-56 in a barnburner during the Class 4A state championship on Saturday.
The game was close from tip-off to the final whistle. Neither team managed to make a significant run in the first quarter. The two teams were tied with less than thirty seconds remaining in the first quarter. Tigers junior guard JonAnthony Hall made a 3-point jumper to give Fishers a 19-16 lead at the end of one.
Fishers and Ben Davis continued to be more or less evenly matched, but the Tigers continued to have the edge.
At halftime, JonAnthony Hall had already racked up 16 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.
The Giants, however, came out of halftime determined to stop Hall's dominance. Ben Davis did just that.
JonAnthony Hall was held scoreless in the third quarter. Ben Davis senior guard K.J. Windham popped off, scoring 7 points for the Giants out of the half. Five points from senior forward Ramone Enis, four from junior forward Tavion Williams and two from senior guard Mark White helped Ben Davis outscore Fishers 18-11 in the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Fishers started to seal the deal.
Ben Davis brought the score to within one point midway through the final quarter, but a series of blocked shots and mistakes allowed the Tigers to pull away.
Fishers outscored Ben Davis by ten points in the fourth to clinch their first boys basketball championship in school history.
JonAnthony Hall finished with a double-double, 23 points and 10 rebounds. Mark Zachery led the Giants with 14 points. K.J. Windham finished with 11.
FISHERS 65, BEN DAVIS 56
BEN DAVIS (23-6) — Ramone Enis 4-4 3-7 11, Tavion Williams 4-5 0-0 8, Mark White 3-7 4-4 10, Mark Zachery 4-10 4-4 14, K.J. Windham 4-15 3-3 11, Justin Parks 0-1 2-4 2, Justin Harrington 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-42 16-22 56.
FISHERS (29-1) — Keenan Garner 8-16 1-2 19, Taden Metzger 3-5 2-2 10, Millen McCartney 0-2 2-3 2, Cooper Zachary 1-2 1-1 3, JonAnthony Hall 9-16 3-5 23, Jason Gardner 0-2 3-4 3, Justin Kirby 2-4 0-0 5, Parker Perdue 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Baker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-47 12-17 65.
3-Point Goals—Ben Davis 2-9 (Zachery 2-2, Windham 0-4, White 0-2, Parks 0-1). Fishers 7-15 (Garner 2-3, Metzger 2-4, Hall 2-4, Kirby 1-1, McCartney 0-2, Zachary 0-1). Rebounds—Ben Davis 24 (Enis, Williams 7). Fishers 25 (Hall 10). Assists—Ben Davis 8 (Zachery 8). Fishers 12 (Garner 5). Total Fouls—Ben Davis 17. Fishers 13.