For the second straight night the Class 4A sixth-ranked Anderson Indians faced a test.
Once again, the Tribe passed with a clutch late-game run.
Down by 10 points after the first quarter and tied 34-34 at halftime with visiting 4A Hamilton Southeastern (8-7), the Indians (13-1) built a four-point lead by the fourth and strung together an 8-0 run in the final 1 minute, 44 seconds to win 65-56.
The victory stretched Anderson’s winning streak to nine straight and improved their home record on Phil Buck Court to 6-1 on the season.
Senior Damien King, who was honored prior to the opening tip for reaching 1,000-career points, added to his overall total with a game-high 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
King entered the night averaging 21.2 points per game and sits with more than 1,140-plus in his career.
The Indians needed every point against the Royals, who had won two of their last three contests and ran out to a quick 23-13 lead by the second quarter after sinking five 3-pointers through the first eight minutes.
HSE converted seven 3-pointers in the first half and nine in the game overall.
King posted 12 points in the first half, while Javon Warfield provided seven and Aaron Morgan, Titus Hunter and Collin Lewis combined for 15 before the intermission.
HSE’s top scorer 6-foot-5 Lucas Weemer finished with 14 points overall, and the Royals challenged the Indians with four double-digit contributors.
Jack Jacobs, Braeden Totton and Landon Osswald each had 11 points apiece for the game. Varschon Clark had six points and a team-best 12 rebounds.
The Indians responded to the early deficit with a 13-3 run to open the second quarter, which countered HSE’s initial 12-0 run late in the first frame.
“Just a lot of consistency,” King said. “We just needed to keep our foot on the gas all night and never let up.”
After halftime, the Indians received a boost from Morgan, who had eight second-half points for 13 overall, including six in the third. Hunter had 10 points, Warfield finished with 13 and Morgan hauled in six total rebounds.
Morgan’s second-half surge pushed the Tribe ahead 42-34, but the Royals chipped away to narrow the margin 46-44 before the fourth quarter.
HSE’s height and physicality gave the Tribe trouble, as the margin stayed within a possession most of the final quarter until Anderson ran away.
Three free-throw conversions by Warfield and Hunter on four attempts upped Anderson’s lead to 55-51, and three more foul shots by King and Lewis kept the Tribe ahead 58-56.
Anderson altered their defensive strategy in the second half to slow HSE’s perimeter attack, which forced nine second-half turnovers and created opportunities to draw fouls.
“You have to play through it. That’s what basketball is about. It’s a physical game. It’s a mental game all around, so that’s it,” King said. “I know we don’t play man a lot. We’re a 1-3-1, but when it comes down, we buckle down and that’s it.”
Anderson converted 11 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, including a pair by King during the Tribe’s 8-0 run in the final 1:44 to secure the win.
“At the end of the day, it’s a possession game. It’s going to be a game of runs. Teams are going to make shots. Teams are going to miss shots, but you just have to keep going,” King said. “(Nine straight is) big, but we don’t let the success get to us. We still got to maintain our composure.”
Anderson beat Lafayette Jeff 63-60 on the road Friday night to open North Central Conference play and keep stride with Marion, who stands at 2-0.
“Last night coming back from nine with six minutes to go, and then coming back today, I didn’t know if we had it in us,” Anderson head coach Don Bowling said. “We did, so this was another tough test.
“We knew that they shot threes really well, and they shoot a lot of threes, so we know they can hit a lot, and you can also miss a lot, too. I just told them it’s a game of runs, and we had to keep on grinding.”
Led by King, the Indians survived.
“Today, Ball State called us, and they want him to go on a visit, and it might be a good thing for him,” Bowling said. “I told him, now, he has to play like this is his team. He did it last night because he hit the game-winning shot, and he played like it was his team again tonight.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.