By Fred Solis
The Hutchinson Tribune
ANDALE—The Indians went to work early against El Dorado Friday night and never let up, scoring 17 first-quarter points while holding the Wildcats to single digits in each period en route to a 60-30 win.
The Wildcats actually got on the board first on a trey at 6:42, but then went about eight minutes before scoring another basket.
Andale countered with back-to-back treys by Jack Horsch and Hunter Grimes, along with six points by Caden Fowler and three by Sam Harp to go up 17-5 at the end of the first quarter. Fowler ended the night with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds, while Grimes scored 11 with three rebounds and Horsch had 10 points, seven boards and three steals.
“It’s always nice to see our team come out and ready to play from opening tip to final buzzer.,” Andale Coach Jeff Buchanan said. “I thought we were consistent all night on both ends of the court.
“Jack Horsch got us going with some good shots on the offensive end and steals on the defensive side. Sam Harp was another that made it really hard for El Dorado to get any offensive looks as he is really anticipating and reading the opposing team’s offense well,” Buchanan said. Harp had six deflections in the game.
The Indians closed out first half with a 9-2 run with scoring again coming from Grimes, Horsch, and Fowler to take a 32-12 halftime lead.
Andale held El Dorado to seven points in the second quarter while for the most part limiting the Wildcats’ offense to one-and-done. Andale took advantage of the 33-21 rebounding edge with 18 second-chance points.
Andale recorded just seven turnovers on the night while they turned El Dorado’s 14 into 11 points. The Indians also had 18 assists in the game as they pounded the ball inside, where Fowler and Grimes did their damage as part of Andale’s 38 points in the paint.
“Fowler and Grimes had another great game inside where they established their physical presence and got some good shots off the glass,” Buchanan said.
“We shot a lot of high-percentage shots, and you combine that with only seven turnovers and then add in how well our defense is playing, I think our guys are putting things together nicely at the right time of the season,” he added.
El Dorado suffered another scoring drought in the third quarter, this one for about three minutes. The Indians, meanwhile, seemed to score at will as they outpaced the Wildcats 20-9 in the period to stretch the lead to 52-21 and set up a running clock for the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats outscored the Indians 9-8 in the final period, but the game was already in hand for Andale, which improved to 15-4 with the win.
The Indians, ranked No. 8 in 4A, will face Clearwater at home on Thursday, Feb. 26, for the final game of the regular season.