By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – The boys basketball game between Westfield and Carmel that took place Saturday at the Shamrocks’ CSI Gymnasium will go down in the record books as one of the best high school contests in Indiana this season.
It was a true tug of war between the Shamrocks and the Greyhounds, with Westfield prevailing 43-42 in front of a sold-out crowd. The victory ran the Shamrocks’ win streak to seven games in a row, and it was the first time Westfield had beaten Carmel since Jan. 9, 2016.
“It’s been a while,” said ‘Rocks coach Shane Sumpter. “We’ve had some close ones and we’ve had some not-so-close ones with them. They’ve beat us four out of the last six years in the sectional, so it’s tough. They’re a very good basketball program, very good team, very well-coached. Just really proud of our guys and our effort tonight.”
While the Carmel-Westfield rivalry is big enough to stand on its own, this game took on new significance when the first high school basketball polls of the New Year came out last Monday, and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s one-class poll had the Greyhounds at No. 1 and Westfield at No. 3. The Associated Press had Carmel at No. 1 in its Class 4A poll, with the ‘Rocks at No. 7.
DEFENSIVE PLAYS
Neither team led by more than seven points on Saturday, as both squads played defense strong enough to not allow the other to escape their gravitational pull. Thus, it seemed appropriate that defensive plays wound up deciding the game.
With 59.4 seconds left, the Greyhounds’ Jared Bonds made two free throws to get Carmel ahead 42-41. Westfield took the ball to its side of the floor, patiently waiting for a good shot. That opportunity came with around 14 seconds left, when Braden Smith drove to the basket and made a layin. The Shamrocks were now up by one point.
Carmel called a timeout to set up a play, and Westfield followed with its own timeout. When play resumed, the Greyhounds quickly got the ball to their side of the court, but were forced out of bounds.
The Shamrocks now had the ball with 7.5 seconds left. Carmel had a foul to give, so it fouled the ‘Rocks twice to put Westfield on the free-throw line for a one-and-one. The ‘Rocks missed the front end, and the Greyhounds got the ball, then called timeout with 5.8 seconds remaining.
Carmel tried to inbound, but Smith rushed in to deflect the ball back out of bounds. Now there were 4.1 seconds left. The ‘Hounds inbounded, but were unable to get a shot off in time.
“How big was that tip that Braden got at the end that took another second and a half off that clock?” said Sumpter. “In hindsight, that ended up being a huge play.”
The Shamrocks got off to a good start, leading 13-9 after the first quarter. Smith had 11 of those points, and it was his second 3-pointer of the period that gave Westfield a 13-6 lead.
Bonds, who earlier made a dunk, hit his own triple to pull Carmel within four going into the second quarter. Sam Orme opened that period with a 3, and the Greyhounds were within 13-12.
Carmel was just getting started. After free throws pushed the Shamrocks’ lead back up to 16-12, the ‘Hounds went on a 9-0 run. Peter Suder started it with a layin, Jake Griffin drained a 3, and Garwey Dual scored consecutive baskets, the second one off a steal.
With that, the Greyhounds held a 21-16 lead. Cam Haffner scored five points, including a 3-pointer, to keep Westfield close, but two Bonds free throws and another triple from Orme gave Carmel a 28-21 advantage. Haffner hit one more 3 in the half, and Dual’s free throw made the score 29-24 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Smith took over again, scoring 12 points for the ‘Rocks. Smith made three 3-pointers, in addition to a traditional three-point play. Meanwhile, Westfield held Carmel to three points in the quarter, a free throw and a layin from Bonds.
With that, Westfield entered the fourth quarter with a 36-32 lead. Orme scored the first basket of the fourth, but a Haffner 3 and Smith layin moved the ‘Rocks ahead 41-34. Carmel then embarked on an 8-0 run, with Griffin, Orme and Dual all making baskets and Bonds hitting the two free throws with just under a minute left.
NO SECRETS
“Two good defensive teams,” said Sumpter. “There’s no secrets. You know both teams are going to play half-court man. They’re going to grind. Very similar styles. There’s no secrets about that. That’s what they do, that’s what we do. We knew it was going to be a grind-it-out.”
Smith led all scorers with 28 points, including five 3s, and six rebounds. Haffner had 13 points, hitting three triples, and made four steals.
Orme scored 16 points for the Greyhounds, with Bonds reaching double-double status by scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Dual finished with eight rebounds, seven points and four assists. Spencer White had two blocked shots.
“I’m proud of the way we competed,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. The ‘Hounds were still missing starters Josh Whack and Charlie Williams, so other players had to step into different roles, and Osborn was pleased with how they did just that.
“We got better tonight, and I don’t want to confuse that,” said Osborn. “Our guys competed. Pete battled foul trouble all night, played 14 minutes. Had two starters out. And I’m not making excuses. We still had a chance to win at the end of the game.”
Westfield is 9-2 and hosts Hamilton Southeastern Friday in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference girls-boys doubleheader. Carmel is 9-3 and plays Wednesday at Cathedral.
WESTFIELD 43, CARMEL 42
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Garwey Dual 3-6 1-3 7 4
Peter Suder 1-3 0-0 2 4
Sam Orme 6-11 2-2 16 1
Burke Weldy 0-0 0-1 0 0
Jared Bonds 3-5 5-6 12 0
Spencer White 0-2 0-0 0 3
Jake Griffin 2-5 0-1 5 1
Josh Rauh 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 15-32 8-13 42 14
Carmel 3-point shooting (4-13) Orme 2-6, Griffin 1-3, Bonds 1-1, White 0-2, Dual 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (26) Bonds 10, Dual 8, White 3, Suder 2, Orme 2, Weldy 1.
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Braden Smith 10-19 3-6 28 3
Cam Haffner 3-13 4-4 13 2
Trey Dorton 0-0 0-0 0 2
Nic Depasquale 1-6 0-0 2 2
Alex Romack 0-2 0-0 0 2
Trey Buchanan 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kai Butterworth 0-1 0-0 0 3
Totals 14-41 7-10 43 14
Westfield 3-point shooting (8-17) Smith 5-8, Haffner 3-8, Depasquale 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (19) Smith 6, Depasquale 4, Haffner 3, Romack 3, Buchanan 1, Dorton 1, Butterworth 1.
Score by Quarters
Carmel 9 20 3 10 – 42
Westfield 13 11 12 7 – 43