SELLERSBURG— A scorched-earth offensive effort in the first half boosted Seymour’s boys basketball team to an overwhelming 57-35 victory over Silver Creek on Friday night.

The Owls came out blazing, making eight of their first nine shots while taking an 18-6 first-quarter lead. That 88 percent shooting cooled in the second quarter, but not noticeably as Seymour ended the first half 14-for-17 from the field (82 percent) and took a 33-15 advantage into halftime.

Michael Brooks was the impetus behind the Owls’ great start. The junior made all five of his field goal attempts and scored 11 first-quarter points. He ended with a career-high 19 to lead all scorers.

“In the half-court, our spacing was really good for most of the night,” Seymour head coach Kirk Manns said. “The extra pass was being made, and then it’s contagious. You make one, two, or three, it catches on. You get the momentum and you’re confident and those shots start to fall.”

Not to be ignored, Seymour’s defense was its usual stingy self. The Owls held Silver Creek nearly 30 points under its offensive average for the season (63.9) while allowing the Dragons just eight total made field goals for the game.

Silver Creek was limited to eight and seven points in the first and second quarters. In the third period, the Dragons’ offense consists solely of 11 made free throws.

“(Silver Creek) is a team that scores a lot of points and they score a lot in transition,” Manns said. “We were able to take that away and force them to play in the half court. That was the goal.”

Seymour cemented its hold on the game with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, increasing its lead to 43-15 with 2:55 left in the period.

“I was concerned a little bit coming out in the third quarter,” Manns said. “But we not only started the first quarter well offensively, we did the same thing in the third. And I thought we kind of took their spirit from them.”

Joining Brooks in double figures were Brady Harpe, who ended with 12, and Jaylan Johnson, who scored 10.

Ethan Silcox came off the bench and made a splash, scoring nine points, including a thunderous dunk following a steal. Parker Thompson didn’t score but provided a spark with three steals and three assists.

Friday’s victory is Seymour’s sixth straight and its third consecutive over Silver Creek. The Owls have now won 12 of their last 13 games and head into the postseason with an impressive 18-4 record.

“With the schedule that we play and the conference that we play in, (18 wins) is a great year,” Manns said. “I’m really proud of the guys. Proud of their togetherness. Proud of their willingness to give of themselves. To guard the way that they guard, as you know, is physically and mentally draining. And they’ve done it for nearly four months now. That unselfishness is really fun.”

Win-wise, this is Seymour’s most successful regular season in over a half-century, marking the first time it has reached 18 wins since the 1971-72 season.

Coached by Barney Scott, the ’71-72 Owls ended with an 18-2 record and picked up two more wins in the sectional before losing a narrow one-point decision to Jennings County in the sectional final.

Without the regular-season qualification, this year’s team ended with the most wins since Mickey Beck’s 1974-75 team ended with 21 victories. That team ended the regular season with a 15-5 record before a six-game postseason win streak ended in the semistate championship game.

With the regular season over, the Owls turn their attention to next week’s Class 4A Seymour Sectional and a first-round matchup with Jeffersonville (15-7) on Tuesday night (6 p.m. tip).

“I’m really proud of where we are, but I’m also looking forward to Tuesday,” Manns said. “We’re ready to get back on our home floor. Hopefully, we have a great crowd and we can get some momentum off of that and we can get after them.”

Varsity

Seymour 57, Silver Creek 35

Seymour;18;15;16;8;—;57

Silver Creek;8;7;11;9;—;35

Seymour (18-4): Michael Brooks 7 4-6 19, Brady Harpe 3 4-4 12, Jaylan Johnson 5 0-0 10, Ethan Silcox 3 1-2 9, Bret Perry 2 0-0 5, Ross Pumphrey 1 0-0 2, Parker Thompson 0 0-0 0, Evan Unterseher 0 0-0 0, Nate Fritsch 0 0-0 0, Charlie Rockey 0 0-0 0, Jake Dowell 0 0-0 0, Totals 21 9-12 57.

Silver Creek (12-9): Nate Davidson 3 4-6 11, Kasen Daeger 1 5-6 8, Hayden Garten 1 4-6 6, Jerron Miles 2 0-0 5, Dane Caldwell 1 1-2 3, Dane Sprigler 0 2-2 2, Jayce Just 0 0-0 0, Walker Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Brandon Hunter 0 0-0 0, Totals 8 16-22 35.

3-point goals: Seymour 6 (Harpe 2, Silcox 2, Perry, Brooks), Silver Creek 3 (Daeger, Davidson, Miles).

Rebounds: Seymour 18 (Brooks 6, Harpe 5, Johnson 3, Silcox, Team 3), Silver Creek 16 (Garten 3, Hunter 3).

Turnovers: Seymour 7, Silver Creek 12.

Fouls: Seymour 20, Silver Creek 18.

Junior Varsity

Silver Creek 34, Seymour 29

Seymour (10-12): Max Coates 7, Charlie Rockey 6, Jack Broughton 5, Jake Dowell 3, Nate Fritsch 2, Jackson Fox 2, Nolan Bartels 2, Traysean Hawkins 2.