The Crawley Athletic Center at Lafayette Jefferson High School has been a favorite place for the Carmel boys basketball team over the past few years.
The Greyhounds will be making their third straight appearance at the Crawley Center on Saturday in the IHSAA Class 4A north semi-state. Carmel, the No. 2-ranked team, will play No. 10 Gary West Side at 3:45 p.m. for the semi-state championship and a ticket to the April 3 Class 4A state championship game. The Greyhounds-Cougars game will follow the 1 p.m. 1A semi-state game between Southwood and Kouts.
Gary West will come to Lafayette Jeff with a 22-4 record. The Cougars hosted Sectional 1 this year and ran through it unopposed, beating Merrillville 66-46, Lake Central 58-29 and Munster 49-29 in the championship.
That sent Gary West to the Michigan City regional. The Cougars zoomed past Elkhart 68-34 in the semi-finals, then came back to beat South Bend Riley 58-43 in the championship game. The Cougars trailed Riley 34-30 in the third quarter, but came back to lead 42-38 by the end of the period, then cruised through the fourth quarter by outscoring the Wildcats 16-5.
Junior Jalen Washington led Gary West with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds, followed by senior Quimari Peterson with 16 points and senior Chrishawn Christmas with 12 points. All three players are averaging in double figures scoring for the Cougars: Peterson puts in 13.6 points per game, Washington scores 12.8 points and Christmas 10.5 points. As a result, Gary West won its sixth regional title, and its first since 2005.
Christmas is the Cougars’ leading rebounder with 6.2 per game, followed closely by Washington with 6.0 per contest. Peterson dishes out 4.0 assists per game.
“Gary West is a senior led team with extremely talented players,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “They’re playing their best basketball of the season. We’ll have to defend and take care of the basketball. They’re playing with a lot of energy and confidence right now.”
Carmel will come into the semi-state with a 24-2 record. The Greyhounds repeated as sectional champions by beating Hamilton Southeastern 46-33 and Westfield 53-27 in the championships. That sent Carmel to the Logansport regional, where it took care of No. 1-ranked Homestead 60-49 and edged out No. 8 Lafayette Jeff in a 50-49 thriller for the title. Senior Brian Waddell made two free throws with under 20 seconds to go to clinch the game.
Waddell is the Greyhounds’ leading scorer with 15.7 points per game, followed by junior Peter Suder with 12.0 points per game. Suder leads the rebounding list with 6.5 per contest, followed by Waddell with 6.2 and junior Charlie Williams with 4.3. Senior Connor Gioia is dishing out 3.4 assists per game, with Suder handing out 3.1.
“This year has certainly been challenging for everyone,” said Osborn. “I think it’s a result of everything we’ve gone through over the last year. We have to play well, and we’ll be prepared. But at this point, I think you have to be able to play loose, confident and do the things you’ve done well all year.”
GUERIN CATHOLIC-SILVER CREEK
In Class 3A action, No. 6-ranked Guerin Catholic will travel south to Seymour on Saturday to play No. 2 Silver Creek for the semi-state championship. The game tips off at 1 p.m., to be followed by the 4A game between Lawrence North and Bloomington South.
The Silver Creek Dragons are 23-4 for the season. Silver Creek won the Charlestown sectional to begin the post-season, blasting Corydon Central 77-42, holding off North Harrison 44-41, then taking care of Madison 83-71 in the championship for its fourth straight sectional crown.
That sent the Dragons to the Washington regional, where they won two tough games to claim the regional, their second in three years and fourth overall. Silver Creek beat No. 4 Heritage Hills 52-48 in the semi-finals and Connersville 31-30 in the championship.
The Dragons have two players averaging double-doubles. Senior Trey Kaufman-Renn pours in 25.5 points and collects 12.1 rebounds per game, while senior Kooper Jacobi adds 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds. Kaufman-Renn also averages 3.8 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.
Junior Branden Northern is another prolific scorer, contributing 15.5 points per contest. He is also far and away the assists leader, dishing out 7.0 per game.
“Silver Creek has a very experienced program,” said Golden Eagles coach Bobby Allen. “They have a tremendous coaching staff that has prepared their players to perform at a high level and they have incredible athletes from top to bottom. It is no surprise that they have had the season that they are having. We have been preparing all week for this opportunity, we know the magnitude of this game and we are fully aware of the weapons they have on their team. We need to control the tempo of this game and force them to take difficult shots and limit them to one shot opportunity.”
Allen said his team is focused and has bought into the game plan, “and now we need to go execute.”
Guerin Catholic is 21-3 for the season. The Golden Eagles won the Lebanon sectional by beating the host Tigers 49-30 in the semi-finals and Circle City Conference rival Brebeuf Jesuit 44-36 in the championship. It was the first sectional title for GC in six years, and the Golden Eagles followed that with their first regional title in six years, defeating host Greencastle 52-41 in the semi-finals and Northview in the championship 59-43.
Senior Joseph Bobilya, who broke the Guerin Catholic 3-point record by making 10 triples during the Northview game, is leading GC in scoring with 17.7 points per game. Senior Kaleb Edwards is averaging 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, with senior Matt Gillis putting in 11.1 points and collecting 7.1 rebounds per contest.
“We have a great group of young men on this team and we are led by eight seniors,” said Allen. “This experience has been life changing for them and we are creating memories that will last a lifetime. They understand the importance of this week and the preparation that is needed to win. Silver Creek is a great team and has earned the right to be in this game, but we have also been playing well and we feel like we have earned the chance to play for a spot in the state finals as well. It is going to be a battle, and I am excited to watch our guys play their hearts out again.”