'We have one of the hardest schedules in Indiana.' Yet No. 1 Fishers is still unbeaten.
AVON – Garrett Winegar paid attention six years ago, and it’s evident.
As an assistant at Warren Central under coach Criss Beyers during the program’s unbeaten state championship season in 2017-18, Winegar not only soaked in the experience, but he admittedly learned what it took to win.
Now, in his fourth year at Fishers, Winegar is sharing those details, even more so than ever before, and his top-ranked, unbeaten Class 4A Tigers are primed to contend with roughly a month left before the IHSAA state tournament.
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“We want to be loose. We want to be confident, but it can’t be so loose and so confident that it takes away from your intensity and your focus,” Winegar said. “I thought tonight we had a really good blend. We were loose, but at the same time, we were locked in and ready to execute the game plan.”
The top priority for Fishers against Hoosier Crossroads Conference rival Avon on Friday night was a fast start, and senior Keenan Garner was ready.
The 6-6 forward hit his first three shots, finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and put the Tigers (14-0, 4-0 HCC) in control en route to a dominating 70-38 victory.
The Tigers jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first quarter before the Orioles (10-5, 1-2 HCC) charged back and cut the deficit 18-16 early in the second.
However, a 14-4 Tigers run pushed the margin back to double figures where it remained.
“We challenged them this week with not waiting around from the jump of the game,” Winegar said. “We’ve had some games recently where we kind of play so-so in the first half, and then we decide to play hard later. We really challenged them this week in practice to do what we do for 32 minutes and not wait around.”
Once Avon junior Rohan Pearson converted a putback basket to open the second half followed by a bucket from senior Kerbe Cottrell to make it a one-possession game, Garner went to work.
An and-1 for Garner padded the lead to five points, 21-16, before freshman Cooper Zachary found his favorite target again in the paint for one of the point guard’s team-high five assists and his big man’s 14th point.
Zachary dished out two more assists during the run, and Garner sank 1- of-2 free throws to cap the momentum shift, as Avon’s offense dwindled.
The Orioles shot 10-of-30 from the field and were 0-for-4 from 3-point range for the game. Avon was charged with 25 total turnovers and after trailing 32-22 by halftime, everything fell the Tigers way.
Fishers’ 14-1 run in the third quarter put the game out of reach, 46-23, with the lead growing to 34 points by the 2:35 mark in the fourth.
Junior Justin Kirby backed up Garner with 11 points, including a steal and a dunk that ballooned the advantage to 52-28 in the third quarter.
Fishers had eight players contribute two points or more, while converting 27-of-58 shot attempts and 14-of-22 free throws. The Tigers outrebounded the Orioles 26-23 and won the defensive battle with 14 steals compared to Avon’s two.
“As a team, it feels great for us (to be unbeaten). We enjoy it every day, but we know we can’t really get too comfortable. We have one of the hardest schedules in Indiana, if not the hardest, so every game we have to come out,” Garner said.
“Teams want to knock you off. You always have a target on your back, so you can’t be too comfortable, but after a road conference win, you always feel good about one of those.”
Pearson led the Orioles with eight points, followed by junior Kendrick Dunmore and Cottrell with six points each.
“I couldn’t be prouder of their unselfishness. It’s hard in today’s day and age when everyone just thinks about scoring. I know they hear, ‘Hey, how many points did you score?’ But on a team that has 10-11 guys getting into the game, you’re not always going to score as much as you like,” Winegar said.
That’s part of the secret Winegar learned on Indianapolis’ east side when Beyers’ Warriors went a perfect 32-0.
“I think he’s the best coach in the state of Indiana. The way he prepared that team was remarkable,” Winegar said. “We never talked about (the streak). Outside people, when we were going on that run, especially late in the season, would ask questions like, ‘Do you want to lose before the tournament?’ Internally, we never talked about it. It was just move on to the next game. Prepare for the next game.”
The Tigers don’t have much of a choice in the matter, locked in a race for the HCC title with previously unbeaten 4A No. 3 Westfield (11-1, 3-1 HCC), who lost at Brownsburg, 62-56, on Friday night.
Fishers hosts Westfield next month and still have Franklin Central and Zionsville left on the regular-season schedule.
“I definitely draw on those experiences at Warren Central of how he prepared that team and the things we tried to do to stay focused because winning can breed complacency, and we want to make sure that’s not the case,” Winegar said. “Wins are hard to come by in our conference, especially on the road, so you have to be happy about it when you get it.”
Just not for long. The Tigers have bigger goals in mind this March.
“You can never look too far ahead because our schedule is just too tough. If you overlook one team, there goes your streak. The streak doesn’t mean too much to us at the end of the day, but to win every game is special to us, so we have to hone in on it,” Garner said.
“I honestly believe we could win a state championship when we’re clicking on all cylinders. We still have a lot to work on and a lot to improve on, but I feel like the path we’re on is a good one. We’re still learning and taking every experience and game as a learning lesson, but state is our ultimate goal.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA boys basketball: Top-ranked Fishers keeps rolling, blasts Avon
