By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – There was a big crowd at the Eric Clark Activity Center Saturday night, and they got to see a nice show from the Carmel boys basketball team.
The Greyhounds, ranked No. 3 in the IBCA coaches poll and No. 5 in the Associated Press Class 4A rankings, got stronger as the game went on and beat Fort Wayne Snider 69-37. It was the second win a row for Carmel.
“It was obviously a big game for us,” said Greyhounds junior Sam Orme. Carmel got off to a good start, at one point leading 13-2 in the first quarter. Jared Bonds scored back to back baskets on a layin and a dunk, then Orme drained a 3-pointer.
The Panthers made a run that stretched into the second quarter, cutting the Greyhounds’ lead to 15-10 early in that period. Snider was within 17-12 when Carmel went on a 13-0 spurt. Spencer White hit a 3, then Orme drained consecutive triples and hit a pair of free throws. Josh Whack finished the run with a layin.
“We’re just trying to put quarters together,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “Trying to string minutes together, trying to be more consistent.” Osborn said he wanted to have the team “keep the same mentality throughout a 32-minute game.”
Carmel led 32-17 at halftime, and went on a 15-5 run that took up most of the third quarter. Orme had seven points during that spurt, while Suder scored four. The ‘Hounds finished the period with two Whack free throws and a Suder layin, giving them a 51-26 lead.
Carmel didn’t let up in the fourth quarter, going on a 12-2 run to take a 63-38 lead and initiate a running clock. Charlie Williams finished the run with a dunk, then Garwey Dual made a couple layins towards the end of the quarter.
“We got guys coming along,” said Osbron. “Spencer hit a shot tonight, Garwey’s had a good week of practice, put two good games together. You know what you’re going to get from Pete every night. Charlie’s getting better. We’re getting there. We’re not there. We’re getting there.”
Orme finished with 24 points, while Suder and Bonds each had 10 points. Suder collected eight rebounds and handed out four assists, and Orme pulled five rebounds and made two blocked shots.
Carmel is 13-4 and hosts Lawrence North Thursday in a Metropolitan Conference game.
“We got a really big one next week,” said Orme. “We got to take that same energy into next week at home, home conference game.”
CARMEL 69, FORT WAYNE SNIDER 37
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Josh Whack 2-5 2-2 6 2
Peter Suder 5-11 0-0 10 2
Sam Orme 7-14 7-7 24 1
Charlie Williams 3-5 0-0 6 2
Jared Bonds 4-7 2-2 10 1
Garwey Dual 4-5 0-0 8 1
Spencer White 1-3 0-0 3 1
Jake Griffin 0-0 0-0 0 0
Logan Reinhart 0-1 0-0 0 0
Josh Rauh 0-0 1-2 1 0
Clay Richards 0-0 0-0 0 1
Burke Weldy 0-0 1-2 1 1
Tyler Walkey 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 26-51 13-15 69 12
Score by Quarters
Snider 7 10 9 11 – 37
Carmel 15 17 19 18 – 69
Carmel 3-point shooting (4-15) Orme 3-7, White 1-3, Suder 0-3, Whack 0-2.
Carmel rebounds (28) Suder 8, Orme 5, Bonds 4, White 3, Griffin 2, Whack 2, Dual 1, Walkey 1, Reinhart 1, Williams 1.