By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
In a sectional championship game that was filled with great baskets and outstanding performances, it seemed inevitable that a big play would decide the game.
That play came for Carmel with 27 seconds left in Saturday’s Class 4A Noblesville sectional final. The No. 10-ranked Greyhounds were trying to hold off Fishers, which was in the process of making an 8-1 run to cut a Carmel lead to 52-49.
The Greyhounds’ Cole Jenkins fired a pass to Luke Heady under the basket. Heady put the ball up, and it sailed high over the rim and back in front of the basket – and right in front of Eddie Gill.
Gill jumped, took the ball with both hands and in one motion, threw it down for a dunk. Seconds later, he was fouled and made both free throws, which put the cap on a 56-49 victory for Carmel.
“I saw it, it came off the rim, so I went up and got it,” said Gill. “Our game plan is just do whatever we had to do to win, so we got it done.
“He’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “He can get up. That play was huge for us.”
That play also sent Carmel to its fourth consecutive sectional title. The Greyhounds are now 18-7 for the season and qualified for the Logansport regional, where they will take on Homestead in the noon semi-final game. That will follow the 10 a.m. semi-final between Fort Wayne North Side and No. 7 Zionsville.
“I think that’s a huge accomplishment, being a senior,” said Gill. “Being at Carmel these past four years and winning sectional these past four years is incredible. Huge accomplishment, but we’re not done yet.”
“It’s pretty awesome,” said junior John Michael Mulloy. “I’ve thankfully been a part of three of them, so I’m really excited. It’s a great accomplishment for our organization and our school, and a great team thing. We couldn’t be more excited.”
But first, the ‘Hounds had to get past Fishers, which is much better than the 12-12 record with which it finished the season.
“Their record is not indicative of how good they are,” said Osborn. “If you look at their schedule and the teams that they’ve played – I don’t think there’s very many games outside of five or six points that they’ve lost. They’re two or three possessions from being like, 18-2.”
Carmel never trailed in the game and enjoyed a double-digit lead on a few occasions, but could never shake off the Tigers. The ‘Hounds led 15-5 late in the first quarter, with Mulloy scoring Carmel’s first seven points and Andrew Owens throwing in a pair of 3-pointers.
But Fishers’ Craig Yoho ended the quarter with a buzzer beating ‘3,’ then the Tigers continued that run into the second period. Terry Hicks drained a 3, Josiah Matthews scored off a steal and Jack Maller hit a free throw – suddenly the score was 15-14.
Carmel answered with a 7-0 run. Mulloy, who is 6-foot-10 and already a Butler commit, added four more points, then Jenkins turned a steal into a basket. The rest of the period was mostly basket-trading (including another 3 by Yoho) and ended with the ‘Hounds up 25-20.
The third quarter was all about “Jeremy and JMM.” That might sound like the title of a medium-market sports call-in show, but there was nothing mediocre of the play of Fishers’ Jeremy Szilagyi and Mulloy in that period.
Mulloy did yeoman’s work in the third quarter, scoring 11 of Carmel’s 13 points and making all five of his shot attempts. Jenkins’ buzzer-beating layin was the only non-Mulloy score for the ‘Hounds in the third.
“When we got away from getting him the ball, they made a run,” said Osborn of Mulloy’s efforts. “But when we got it to him, he was very efficient. He was very good today, played with patience. I thought he made good decisions when he had the ball.”
“I needed to make plays when I needed to make plays, and my teammates did the same thing,” said Mulloy.
Szilagyi, meanwhile, played like a senior leader the whole game, but had some big baskets to keep Fishers within striking distance. He drained a 3-pointer, then was fouled while attempting another ‘3’ and made all three free throws. Szilagyi then made a layin to cut Carmel’s lead to 34-28, then Hicks cut that advantage to 34-30 with a dunk.
But every time the Tigers got close, the Greyhounds would make another run. Carmel scored eight consecutive points, bridging the third and fourth periods and eventually going up 42-30 midway through the fourth. Jalen Whack had a solid quarter, as he scored seven points, including back-to-back baskets that put the ‘Hounds up 47-37.
“He’s an experienced guy that started in the tournament last year,” said Osborn. “He’s got a lot of experience playing in this big of a game. We’re going to need him as we go through this.”
Two free throws from Jenkins put Carmel up 49-38 with two minutes to go. Fishers made one last push, starting with another 3-pointer from Hicks. Mulloy answered that with a dunk, but the Tigers started rolling on their 8-1 run, with Szilagyi making a three-point play, Hicks making another 3 (a 6-foot-5 swing that can shoot the 3 – are you listening, college coaches?) and Alex Szilagyi hitting a layin. That brought the score to 52-49, but that would soon be changed by Gill’s heroics.
“At that point, even though it’s three, it feels probably like 10 because you’ve been down for so long,” said Fishers coach Matt Moore. “I thought we did a really good job of staying aggressive and trying to get the right matchups, get Terry shots.
“But Carmel does such a great job of pressuring you outside our attack areas, which kind of pushes you off of where you can run your sets and where you can screen and where you enter the ball. So we just didn’t have a lot of consistency in our flow today because of their defensive pressure.”
Mulloy finished the game with 26 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots. Gill also had six rebounds, with Jenkins dishing out four assists.
Szilagyi scored 14 points for the Tigers, with Hicks scoring 13, including three 3-pointers. Hicks also collected seven rebounds as Fishers finished its first season with Moore as head coach.
“I don’t really have a lot of expectation measuring beforehand, but our goal is to be competitive in every game,” said Moore. “And I think all but three, we were competitive in every game.”
In addition to being its 28th overall sectional championship, this marks the third time Carmel has won four sectionals in a row. The Greyhounds’ other streaks include five in a row from 1976 to 1980, and nine in a row from 1966 to 1974.
Carmel 56, Fishers 49
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Josiah Matthews 3-8 1-3 8 2
Willie Jackson 0-4 2-4 2 3
Jeremy Szilagyi 6-13 4-4 14 4
Brendhan Russom 0-0 0-0 0 3
Terry Hicks 5-6 0-0 13 4
Bryce Gee 1-1 0-0 2 2
Alex Szilagyi 1-1 1-2 3 2
Jack Maller 0-4 1-2 1 1
Craig Yoho 2-4 0-0 6 1
Emmanuel Davis 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 18-41 9-15 49 22
Fishers 3-point shooting (8-15) Hicks 3-3, J. Szilagyi 2-7, Yoho 2-3, Matthews 1-2.
Fishers rebounds (21) Hicks 7, Matthews 4, Jackson 3, J. Szilagyi 2, Maller 2, Gee 1, Yoho 1, team 1.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Cole Jenkins 2-5 3-4 7 2
Eddie Gill 2-3 3-4 7 4
Luke Heady 0-2 3-6 3 3
Andrew Owens 2-7 0-0 6 1
John Michael Mulloy 10-11 6-9 26 1
Jalen Whack 3-4 1-2 7 3
Alex Jackson 0-0 0-0 0 1
Karsten Windlan 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 19-32 16-25 56 16
Carmel 3-point shooting (2-9) Owens 2-5, Jenkins 0-2, Gill 0-1, Heady 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (23) Gill 6, Mulloy 6, Jenkins 4, Whack 3, Heady 2, Owens 2.
Score by Quarters
Fishers 8 12 10 19 – 49
Carmel 15 10 13 18 – 56
ABOVE: The Carmel boys basketball team won its fourth consecutive sectional championship on Saturday, holding off Fishers 56-49 in the final of the Class 4A Noblesville sectional. The Greyhounds will advance to the Logansport regional next Saturday, playing Homestead in the semi-finals.
BELOW: Fishers’ Jack Maller (40), Carmel’s John Michael Mulloy (33) and Fishers’ Willie Jackson (5) look out for a rebound during Saturday’s sectional championship game at Noblesville. (Kent Graham)
Fishers’ Jack Maller (40), Carmel’s John Michael Mulloy (33) and Fishers’ Willie Jackson (5) look out for a rebound during Saturday’s sectional championship game at Noblesville.