No. 1 Fishers rolls to win over Kokomo, No. 3 Lawrence North also cruises at Tipoff Classic

Roundup from Saturday’s six-game high school boys basketball FORUM Tipoff Classic at Southport Fieldhouse:

Fishers 77, Kokomo 55: Maybe Fishers is the No. 1 team in Class 4A.

Coach Garrett Winegar was a bit skeptical of the Tigers’ Associated Press ranking in the first week of the season, but his team, now 6-0, passed another big test with a blowout of the fifth-ranked Wildkats, last year’s 4A runner-up.

“If you’re a mid-major school in the country and watching what Keenan Garner just did against one of the top players in the country, I don’t know how you’re not looking at him," Fishers coach Garrett Winegar said "He’s hitting threes, he’s getting downhill, he’s passing and handling it. I thought the job Keenan did tonight was phenomenal.”

Garner, a 6-6 senior, finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists and played most of the game against Kokomo senior star and Kansas recruit Flory Bidunga, who was mostly quiet on the offensive end. Bidunga finished with four points on 1-for-3 shooting from the field and 2-for-5 from the free-throw line. He was a willing passer out of double teams and finished with six assists, five rebounds and four blocked shots.

Freshman guard Cooper Zackary had 13 points, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers in a stellar performance for Fishers. Junior guard JonAnthony Hall added 10 points and four rebounds.

Karson Rogers, a beneficiary of Bidunga’s assists, led Kokomo with 17 points and six rebounds.

Fishers led 34-28 at halftime before running away to a 17-point lead by the end of the third quarter. Three minutes later, the Tigers led by 25 points.

Lawrence North 72, Fort Wayne Wayne 51: Class 4A No. 3 Lawrence North was dominant in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game, running away from the Generals with a 13-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter.

Junior guard Azavier Robinson led Lawrence North (4-0) with 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The Wildcats trailed 33-31 at halftime before starting the third quarter on a 10-0 run. Wayne (3-2) rallied back but still trailed 52-47 at the start of the fourth quarter.

But just as Lawrence North did in the fourth quarter of a 79-61 win over Lawrence Central on Wednesday night - turning a tie game into a rout – the Wildcats blitzed the Generals with a press that turned into layups and easy baskets.

Senior guard Kobi Bowles added 16 points and three assists for Lawrence North and Myles Baker had 13 points. Wayne, which committed 17 turnovers, was just 5-for-26 from the 3-point line. The Generals were led by Jevon Lewis (16 points) and Chase Barnes (15 points and six rebounds).

Noblesville 51, Crispus Attucks 46: Noblesville capped a two-game weekend sweep against vastly different styles of opponents, led by 20 points and 10 rebounds from senior Hunter Walston.

On Friday night, the Millers (4-1) pulled away from Carmel for a 59-34 win in a methodical, half-court game. Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers was more uptempo.

“You couldn’t have had two more polar opposite teams on the same weekend,” Noblesville coach Scott McClelland said. “One of the reasons we wanted to do that was to help us down the road. Sometimes that’s a tough task, though, in December.”

Noblesville led 28-20 at halftime but Attucks rallied to tie the game, 33-33, late in the third quarter and the rest of the game was played within one or two possessions almost the rest of the way. Demetrius Jenkins led the Tigers (4-2) with 11 points and 6-8 junior Dezmon Briscoe added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Ron Rutland III also had 10 points.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” McClelland said. “I really want to recognize Will Smits. I thought he played outstanding and I thought Aiden Brewer gave us some good minutes. Maybe stuff that won’t show up in the box score but just they really provided toughness and a lot of energy. A good win for us and it doesn’t get any easier next week with Westfield.”

Guerin Catholic 52, Heritage Hills 42: Senior guard Robert Sorensen scored 29 points to lead Class 3A top-ranked Guerin Catholic in a physical game against 3A No. 5 Heritage Hills.

Heritage Hills’ junior standout Trent Sisley scored nine points in the opening five minutes, but was held to 14 points for the game on 6-for-13 shooting. The 6-9 Sisley pulled down eight rebounds and had three assists, but was constantly hounded by Guerin’s Bryson Cardinal and Dylan Murans.

“I don’t know what his season low is, but that might be it,” Sorensen said. “I have to give those guys credit; they did a great job.”

Sorensen scored 13 points in the fourth quarter was Guerin pulled away after leading 36-33 going into the fourth.

“He does it night in and night out,” Guerin Catholic coach Bobby Allen said of Sorensen. “He’s just a tough kid who wants to win.”

The Golden Eagles shot just 9-for-21 from the free-throw line.

Warren Central 60, Center Grove 44: Warren Central jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and held off multiple Center Grove runs to pull away for its first victory.

Junior guard Zeke Kirby led Warren Central (1-3) with 18 points and 6-5 junior Jevon Guess added 12 points and five rebounds for the Warriors, who limited Center Grove to 4-for-17 shooting in the first half to build a 29-12 lead.

“The last three games we’ve played pretty well defensively,” said Warren Central coach Criss Beyers, whose team was coming off an overtime loss Friday night to Crispus Attucks. “Today, we did too. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”

Center Grove (3-3) went on a 10-0 run to start the second half, but could never get over the hump against the Warriors. Junior Joey Schmitz was a bright spot for the Trojans with 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting and five rebounds. Will Spellman added 11 points and five rebounds for Center Grove, which has lost three of four after a 2-0 start.

Greenfield-Central 71, Southport 56: Braylon Mullins, a night after scoring 27 points in a win over rival New Palestine, went for a game-high 31 points as Greenfield-Central improved to 5-0.

Mullins, a 6-5 junior standout, banked in a 60-foot shot just before halftime to finish off a 22-point first half. Braden Robertson added 13 points and Dallas Freeman had 12 points for the Cougars, who were 8-for-15 from the 3-point line.

Southport (1-4) was led by Michael Johnson’s 12 points and three assists. Sophomore James Kalala added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Cardinals.

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

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: No. 1 Fishers, No. 3 Lawrence North big winners in FORUM Tipoff Classic