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ELKHART — The Riley boys basketball team had a magical season full of championships.
The Wildcats can always say too that it took the state's best team to put an end to that tremendous run of success.
Top-ranked and defending state champion Fishers lived up to its lofty billing and then some Saturday to sideline the Wildcats.
Fishers flew to a quick start en route to downing Riley 82-46 in a Class 4A Semi-state semifinal game at North Side Gym. The Tigers, who won their 42nd straight game, improved to 29-0. Fishers advanced to the semi-state title game Saturday night to face No. 7 Crown Point (23-2). Crown Point beat No. 15 Homestead 41-29 in Saturday's second semifinal contest.
More: 'He's gelled so well.' Tyrese Jones finds new home with South Bend Riley boys basketball
More: IHSAA boys basketball semi-state preview: South Bend area making history Saturday
Riley, which won Northern Indiana Conference, sectional and regional crowns, finished at 22-5.
Justin Kirby, a smooth 6-4 senior guard, led Fishers with 21 points. The Miami of Ohio recruit hit 9-of-10 shots from the field and scored all of his points in the first three quarters as the Tigers played their backups the fourth period.
Logan Sigler, a 6-6 senior, scored 14 points off the bench for Fishers. Sophomore guard Jason Gardner Jr. and senior guard JonAnthony Hall each added 10 points. Hall has committed to play football at Stanford.
Marvin Schindler, one of five seniors, led Riley with 13 points. Junior Isaiah Packer added 10 points.
Junior Tyrese Jones, Riley's second leading scorer at 14.8 ppg., scored two points as he played limited minutes due to three fouls in the first quarter. Jones, who played at Clay High School last season, had 45 points in a 77-71 double overtime win over Warsaw in Riley's regional win last week.
The state record for consecutive wins is 50 in a row by Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis in 2005-06. That team featured future NBA players Mike Conley and Greg Oden.
"I'm just super proud of everything that these guys accomplished this season," said Riley coach Alex Daniel. "I told them that they put Riley back on the map. Riley has a rich tradition of boys basketball success in the past and this team reset that standard.
"I also told them don't let one game (this game) tear you down."
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 11 in the USA Today Super 25 National Rankings, was going for their second semi-state title in program history Saturday night. Fishers won its first a year ago before beating Ben Davis 65-56 in the 4A state title game. Their last loss was a 54-46 setback at Carmel on Jan. 27, 2024.
Fishers did to Riley what it had done to almost every opponent on its schedule this season. The Tigers raced to a 7-0 lead to open the game and led 20-3 after the opening quarter. Riley was whistled for a player technical foul just 30 seconds into the contest and were in foul trouble from the opening tipoff. The Wildcats shot 1-of-12 from the field in the first stanza, with just a 3-pointer by freshman Dontreyelle Johnson being their lone bucket.
The Tigers entered play Saturday with just six of their wins by single digit margins through their first 28 games. They also ranked fourth in the state in offensive scoring average at 74 ppg. and fourth in average margin of victory at 26 ppg.
Riley opened the second period with an 8-0 run, sparked by Packer, to cut the lead to 20-11 with 5:06 to play. The Tigers never blinked, closing the half on a 20-12 run to lead 40-23 at halftime. Riley had four players with three fouls by halftime as Fishers was 12-of-16 from the free throw line. The Wildcats did not attempt a first half free throw. Daniel was also whistled for a technical foul with 1:28 to play before intermission. Riley had 14 total fouls, which included the pair of technicals, and Fishers seven in the opening half.
"I have nothing to say," responded Daniel when asked about the officiating.
When pressed, the Riley coach still opted to take the high road for the most part.
"They (the officials) have been evaluated and that's why they are here today," Daniel added. "They are doing the best they can. We have to do a better job overcoming things. I got a technical foul for trying to call a timeout, which was the fourth time I was trying to call one."
The Tigers never let off the gas in the third period. Fishers outscored Riley 30-12 in the frame to build a 70-35 advantage and invoke a running clock the rest of the way. Eight different players scored in the third period for Fishers as they shot 12-of-18 from the field to 4-of-13 for Riley.
"Playing from behind like we were from the start is just very difficult to do against Fishers," Daniel said. "It's hard to overcome. We had four guys with three fouls at halftime and that makes it hard to battle. It is what it is.
"Credit Fishers. They are a very good basketball team. They have won 42 games in a row for a reason. But I never counted my guys out today. They are battle tested and I knew they would fight to the end and they did that."
The Wildcats had lost an 89-29 contest at Fishers on Jan. 18. Riley was without about 85 minutes of its regular rotation of players in that game according to Daniel. The Wildcats had several key players suspended for the contest following a postgame altercation following their previous game at South Bend Adams.
Fishers finished 30-of-49 from the field, including 4-of-15 from 3-point land. The Tigers were 18-of-25 from the free throw line and outrebounded Riley 28-16 with Kirby leading the way with six caroms. Fishers had 11 turnovers.
Riley shot 19-of-55 from the field, including 3-of-15 from deep. The Wildcats were 5-of-6 from the free throw line and had 10 turnovers.
Riley will say goodbye to seniors Schindler, Jaylen Barbara, Brandon Williams, Jaiden Stamps and Ki'Shawn Wright. The trio of Schindler, Barbara and Williams all started on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Defending state champ Fishers won its 42nd straight game in IHSAA Semi-state
Continue reading...
The Wildcats can always say too that it took the state's best team to put an end to that tremendous run of success.
Top-ranked and defending state champion Fishers lived up to its lofty billing and then some Saturday to sideline the Wildcats.
Fishers flew to a quick start en route to downing Riley 82-46 in a Class 4A Semi-state semifinal game at North Side Gym. The Tigers, who won their 42nd straight game, improved to 29-0. Fishers advanced to the semi-state title game Saturday night to face No. 7 Crown Point (23-2). Crown Point beat No. 15 Homestead 41-29 in Saturday's second semifinal contest.
More: 'He's gelled so well.' Tyrese Jones finds new home with South Bend Riley boys basketball
More: IHSAA boys basketball semi-state preview: South Bend area making history Saturday
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Riley, which won Northern Indiana Conference, sectional and regional crowns, finished at 22-5.
Justin Kirby, a smooth 6-4 senior guard, led Fishers with 21 points. The Miami of Ohio recruit hit 9-of-10 shots from the field and scored all of his points in the first three quarters as the Tigers played their backups the fourth period.
Logan Sigler, a 6-6 senior, scored 14 points off the bench for Fishers. Sophomore guard Jason Gardner Jr. and senior guard JonAnthony Hall each added 10 points. Hall has committed to play football at Stanford.
Marvin Schindler, one of five seniors, led Riley with 13 points. Junior Isaiah Packer added 10 points.
Junior Tyrese Jones, Riley's second leading scorer at 14.8 ppg., scored two points as he played limited minutes due to three fouls in the first quarter. Jones, who played at Clay High School last season, had 45 points in a 77-71 double overtime win over Warsaw in Riley's regional win last week.
The state record for consecutive wins is 50 in a row by Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis in 2005-06. That team featured future NBA players Mike Conley and Greg Oden.
"I'm just super proud of everything that these guys accomplished this season," said Riley coach Alex Daniel. "I told them that they put Riley back on the map. Riley has a rich tradition of boys basketball success in the past and this team reset that standard.
"I also told them don't let one game (this game) tear you down."
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 11 in the USA Today Super 25 National Rankings, was going for their second semi-state title in program history Saturday night. Fishers won its first a year ago before beating Ben Davis 65-56 in the 4A state title game. Their last loss was a 54-46 setback at Carmel on Jan. 27, 2024.
Fishers did to Riley what it had done to almost every opponent on its schedule this season. The Tigers raced to a 7-0 lead to open the game and led 20-3 after the opening quarter. Riley was whistled for a player technical foul just 30 seconds into the contest and were in foul trouble from the opening tipoff. The Wildcats shot 1-of-12 from the field in the first stanza, with just a 3-pointer by freshman Dontreyelle Johnson being their lone bucket.
The Tigers entered play Saturday with just six of their wins by single digit margins through their first 28 games. They also ranked fourth in the state in offensive scoring average at 74 ppg. and fourth in average margin of victory at 26 ppg.
Riley opened the second period with an 8-0 run, sparked by Packer, to cut the lead to 20-11 with 5:06 to play. The Tigers never blinked, closing the half on a 20-12 run to lead 40-23 at halftime. Riley had four players with three fouls by halftime as Fishers was 12-of-16 from the free throw line. The Wildcats did not attempt a first half free throw. Daniel was also whistled for a technical foul with 1:28 to play before intermission. Riley had 14 total fouls, which included the pair of technicals, and Fishers seven in the opening half.
"I have nothing to say," responded Daniel when asked about the officiating.
When pressed, the Riley coach still opted to take the high road for the most part.
"They (the officials) have been evaluated and that's why they are here today," Daniel added. "They are doing the best they can. We have to do a better job overcoming things. I got a technical foul for trying to call a timeout, which was the fourth time I was trying to call one."
The Tigers never let off the gas in the third period. Fishers outscored Riley 30-12 in the frame to build a 70-35 advantage and invoke a running clock the rest of the way. Eight different players scored in the third period for Fishers as they shot 12-of-18 from the field to 4-of-13 for Riley.
"Playing from behind like we were from the start is just very difficult to do against Fishers," Daniel said. "It's hard to overcome. We had four guys with three fouls at halftime and that makes it hard to battle. It is what it is.
"Credit Fishers. They are a very good basketball team. They have won 42 games in a row for a reason. But I never counted my guys out today. They are battle tested and I knew they would fight to the end and they did that."
The Wildcats had lost an 89-29 contest at Fishers on Jan. 18. Riley was without about 85 minutes of its regular rotation of players in that game according to Daniel. The Wildcats had several key players suspended for the contest following a postgame altercation following their previous game at South Bend Adams.
Fishers finished 30-of-49 from the field, including 4-of-15 from 3-point land. The Tigers were 18-of-25 from the free throw line and outrebounded Riley 28-16 with Kirby leading the way with six caroms. Fishers had 11 turnovers.
Riley shot 19-of-55 from the field, including 3-of-15 from deep. The Wildcats were 5-of-6 from the free throw line and had 10 turnovers.
Riley will say goodbye to seniors Schindler, Jaylen Barbara, Brandon Williams, Jaiden Stamps and Ki'Shawn Wright. The trio of Schindler, Barbara and Williams all started on Saturday.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Defending state champ Fishers won its 42nd straight game in IHSAA Semi-state
Continue reading...
