Columbus East’s Alex Duncan, left, drives to the basket while guarded by Columbus North’s Caleb Ferguson and Garrett Long (44) during the annual crosstown rivalry game at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Dec. 15, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Jackson Fischvogt took command in the fourth quarter.
Playing in his final crosstown rivalry game against Columbus North, the Columbus East senior led the charge in helping the Olympians come back from seven-point deficit after three quarters to climb back and prevail with a nail-biting 46-45 boys basketball victory over the Bull Dogs Friday night in the Orange Pit.
This is East’s first victory over North since 2018, and is also the first time that Olympian girls and boys basketball teams have swept the Bull Dogs since 2006. The girls team won 43-38 in overtime on Thursday night at North.
Needless to say, it was an emotional win for the Olympians.
“It’s about coming in at 5:15 a.m. and getting shots in,” Fischvogt said of his shooting. “That’s what you live for, and that’s why I’m in here every morning, just for that.”
“It’s a battle,” East junior Mason Reeves added. “We’ve been working every day in practice. We’ve had some ups and downs, but we all came together as a team tonight.”
Being a huge rivalry game, it was no surprise there was much more physicality involved down the stretch.
“Overall, it was a great experience for our guys. It was a great atmosphere, fun night for Columbus,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We’re playing for February. We’ll learn and grow from this. Guys got some really valuable experience in a great atmosphere. We’ll bounce back.”
Fischvogt gave the Olympians (3-3) a 36-34 lead with two free throws with less than four minutes left to play. When the Bull Dogs (2-4) tied it with a Garrett Long basket inside, Fischvogt nailed a 3-pointer to lead 39-36. East never surrendered the lead since that.
Late in the game, it came down to free-throw shooting contest. The Olympians looked to put it away leading 43-38, but North’s Caleb Ferguson hit a big 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to cut it it 43-41. After Keaton Lawson hit 1 of 2 free throws, Drew Schiefer got a putback following an offensive board to make it 44-43 with 14.6 seconds remaining.
The teams traded free throws, but Fischvogt opened the door after missing two free throws with less than eight seconds left. The East defense stepped up to prevent an open look at a potential game-winner, and a long 3-pointer was off the mark.
“We talked about being in that position and having that chance to win,” East coach Perry Nash said. “We were just biting at their heels the entire game, and I knew that we were right there, that gives us that opportunity. Guys like Jack just stepped in those huge moments and hit some big shots. Jack is a guy where his numbers might not be huge, but he is going to hit them when they matter.”
Fischvogt finished with a team-high 18 points, and Alex Duncan added 12 for the Olympians. The Bull Dogs were led by Caleb Ferguson, who poured in a game-high 20 points.
The Olympians can’t celebrate this victory long as they travel to Scottsburg today. North will look to bounce back when it travels to Terre Haute South on Wednesday.
Columbus East 46, Columbus North 45
Columbus North;9;13;12;11;—;45
Columbus East;7;9;11;19;—;46
Columbus North (2-4): Judah Lewis 1 0-0 2, Mason Acton 0 0-0 0, Caleb Ferguson 5 6-6 20, Nate Enneking 0 0-0 0, Austin Perry 0 0-0 0, Max Coomes 3 0-0 8, Nolan Pickup 1 0-0 2, Ben Ferguson 0 0-0 0, Drew Schiefer 3 0-0 6, Garrett Long 2 3-4 7. Totals: 15 9-10 45.
Columbus East (3-3): Mason Reeves 1 0-0 3, Anthony Cowan 0 0-0 0, Jack Fischvogt 5 5-8 18, Ethan Bumbalough 1 0-0 3, Kadin Lobdell 0 0-0 0, Keaton Lawson 3 2-4 8, Alex Duncan 3 5-6 11, Carter Patterson 1 1-2 3. Totals: 14 13-20 46.
3-point goals: Columbus North 6 (C. Ferguson 4, Coomes 2); Columbus East 5 (Fischvogt 3, Reeves, Bumbalough).
