Carmel vs. Penn in the semi-state: It’s something that usually happens in football.
On Saturday, it will be a basketball occasion. The No. 1 ranked Greyhounds and the No. 9 Kingsmen will play each other at 3:45 p.m. in the Class 4A north semi-state at Lafayette Jefferson, with the winner earning a place in the state finals. The 4A south semi-state takes place in Washington, with Ben Davis and Center Grove (talk about a football matchup) tipping off at 6 p.m.
While the two teams have played each other plenty on the football field – six times since 2011 – Carmel and Penn have only met each other twice in the past 10 years. The Greyhounds played a home-and-home series with Penn a couple days before Christmas in 2009 and 2010, with the ‘Hounds winning both times. Carmel won at the Kingsmen’s gym 49-41 on Dec. 23, 2009, then got a 91-67 victory on Dec. 22, 2010.
Penn is 24-3 for the season. The Kingsmen won the North Division of the Northern Indiana Conference with a 5-0 record, and were 11-1 overall, tying with South Bend Riley and Mishawaka Marian for best record in the league.
In the tournament, Penn has been battle-tested, with only one easy game coming into the semi-state. The Kingsmen won their own sectional by beating South Bend Riley 50-48, La Porte 78-52 and South Bend Adams 63-60, their first championship since 2014. Penn needed two more tight games to win the Michigan City regional, defeating Chesterton 49-42 and Northridge 74-72. It was the first regional title for the Kingsmen since 2006.
Penn has three seniors scoring in double digits. Noah Applegate, a Hillsdale College commit, is averaging 20.3 points per game, and is also the Kingsmen’s leading rebounder with 8.4 per contest. Drew Lutz, headed to Bethel College, scores 18.8 points and hands out 7.5 assists per game, while Beau Ludwick pours in 11.6 points and collected 5.6 rebounds. Another senior, Kegan Hoskins (committed to Kankakee Community College), is averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.
Carmel is 24-1 for the season, its most wins since the 2012-13 campaign. The Greyhounds won their own sectional with tough victories over Fishers 62-52 and Hamilton Southeastern 45-39. At the Logansport regional, Carmel took care of Fort Wayne Northrop 58-42 and Zionsville 53-39.
Three seniors lead the Carmel scoring: Butler signee John Michael Mulloy has been dominant for the ‘Hounds, averaging 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Karsten Windlan adds 11.8 points per game while Andrew Owens, a University of Findlay recruit, scores at an 11.6 points-per-game clip.
TV-40 to air semi-state games
Both games of the Lafayette Jefferson semi-state will be broadcast on WHMB-TV 40 on Saturday.
The Class 2A game between Frankton and Andrean will be shown at 3 p.m., with the 4A game between Carmel and Penn scheduled for 9 p.m. Howard Kellman and Dave Nicholson will call both games.
Andrew Owens is scoring 11.6 points per game this season for Carmel. The Greyhounds will travel to Lafayette Jefferson on Saturday to play Penn for the Class 4A north semi-state. (Kent Graham/File photo)