The Washington Hatchets were back at full strength for Saturday’s Big 8 Conference opener with Mt. Vernon at the Hatchet House, and Cody Zeller made his presence known in style as the Hatchets claimed a 45-33 win.

Zeller, the Hatchets’ 6-8 sophomore center, has been on the sidelines since injuring his left hand early in a 61-58 win at North Daviess on Dec. 6. But Zeller returned to practice last Monday and keyed the win for Class 3A No. 6 Washington (8-1, 1-0) over Mt. Vernon (3-3, 1-1).

Zeller scored 10 of his game high 16 points in the first half as the Hatchets fought back from an early deficit to lead 24-16 entering the locker room. Zeller added 12 rebounds, also a game high, two assists and two blocked shots in his most impressive performance of the season and one that drew praise from Washington coach Gene Miiller.

“I thought he played really well. He rebounded well, he played well defensively, and he scored,” said Miiller. “I was really pleased with the way he played. He could have been even a little more aggressive offensively at times. Hopefully that will come.”

Junior guard Ethan Hunsinger also reached double digits for WHS with 12 points, including a big 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the second quarter that allowed the Hatchets to claim that eight-point halftime lead. Senior guard Cody Osmon didn’t score but provided solid floor play with five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Junior Sam Gines and sophomore Kurtis Anthony added six points each, with Gines also pulling down four rebounds, as did Hunsinger. Sophomore reserve Matt Babrick also grabbed five boards.

Overall, Miiller was pleased with the team’s play in most areas — Washington committed just 10 turnovers after having 31 miscues in their final game before Christmas, a win at Loogootee on Dec. 23. The Hatchets out rebounded Mt. Vernon 31-25 and held the Wildcats, who were led by Ryan Ploetz, with 10 points, to 34 percent shooting.

But the offensive struggles that have plagued the Hatchets off and on during the first half of the season were present again as WHS shot just 36 percent (16-45) from the field.

“I thought our kids played hard, I thought we really played pretty well. Our defense was really good, I thought we rebounded the basketball well, we handled the basketball pretty well,” said Miiller, whose team has now won 14 straight conference games dating to the 2005-06 season.

“The only thing we didn’t do well was shoot the basketball. We missed a lot of good shots throughout the ballgame, but that’s where, if you’re doing the other things well, you’re going to win games where you’re not shooting the ball, with defense, rebounding, and taking care of the basketball.”

Mt. Vernon prevailed in the JV game 39-26. Trevor Miller topped WHS with nine points, followed by Adam Lane with eight.