By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – For the past few games, the Carmel boys basketball team has been in “next man up” mode.
The Class 4A No. 2 Greyhounds are missing four players, including three starters, but they are still winning, with seniors and young players alike stepping up. They did it again Wednesday when Carmel toughed out a 44-30 victory over Anderson at the Eric Clark Activity Center, improving its record to 8-0 for the season.
Carmel coach Ryan Osborn was pleased to see his younger players helping out the team.
“It’s a great opportunity for all those guys to step up and get big varsity minutes before we get to the tournament,” said Osborn. “You go into the tournament, you’ve got guys that have the experience and can help you in certain situations. You never know what you’re going to run into.”
The Greyhounds ran into a determined Anderson team on Wednesday. Although the ‘Hounds never trailed, the Indians kept it close in the first half. The first quarter was a defensive one, with Carmel leading 5-0 at the end of the period. Bryce Beery had three of those points and Brian Waddell the other two.
Things began to roll in the second quarter for both teams. Peter Suder got hot, scoring seven points, including a 3-pointer, and Beery’s layin got the Greyhounds ahead 16-9. But back-to-back triples from Anderson’s Marcus Armstrong cut Carmel’s advantage to 16-15 by halftime.
It was Waddell’s turn to shine in the third quarter, as he scored nine points. The senior made two 3-pointers and a traditional three-point play midway through the quarter, giving the ‘Hounds a 27-19 lead. That helped Carmel withstand a 6-0 run by the Indians, and a layin by Jared Bonds ended the quarter, putting the Greyhounds up 29-25.
I think in the second half we responded well,” said Osborn. “We got back to our stuff. I think in the first half, we got outside of what we typically do to try to create possessions. It shot us in the foot a couple times and kept the game really close in the first half.”
The ‘Hounds finally pulled away in the fourth quarter. Carmel finished the game on a 10-1 run, which began with Bonds hitting another layin. Suder and Waddell took over after that, which each player scoring four points.
“I felt like we did a better job defending,” said Osborn. “Helped us to build a lead in the second half and I thought the seniors and Peter did a good job of finishing.”
Waddell finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds, while Suder added 15 points and collected eight rebounds. Carmel’s defense was strong with nine blocked shots; Bonds had three blocks, while Suder and Wil Leary both made two blocks.
The Greyhounds play at Fishers on Saturday.
CARMEL 44, ANDERSON 30
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Peter Suder 7-8 0-0 15 1
Brian Waddell 6-12 4-5 18 1
Bryce Beery 2-4 1-2 5 2
Wil Leary 0-3 0-2 0 2
Nick Frische 0-2 0-0 0 3
Jared Bonds 3-4 0-0 6 1
Josh Rauh 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 18-33 5-9 44 10
Score by Quarters
Anderson 0 15 10 5 – 30
Carmel 5 11 13 15 – 44
Carmel 3-point shooting (3-9) Waddell 2-4, Suder 1-2, Leary 0-3.
Carmel rebounds (22) Suder 8, Waddell 6, Beery 3, Leary 3, Frische 1, Bonds 1.