Sam Orme’s layin puts Carmel over the top 60-58
By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – If a senior is near the ball when the clock is winding down, there’s always the potential for a good thing to happen.
Carmel senior Sam Orme was near the ball when the Class 4A No. 8 Greyhounds played at Fishers Tuesday night, with time running out in overtime. Orme got a steal, rushed down the court, and laid the ball in to give Carmel a 60-58 win over the 4A No. 10 Tigers in an exciting game at the Tiger Den.
The contest was tied at 51-51 at the end of regulation, this after many lead changes and big baskets during the four quarters. Fishers’ Jalen Haralson was quickly fouled and made two free throws nine seconds into the extra period, and Orme answered that with a layin.
Aidan Zimmer drained a 3-pointer, but Orme came right back and hit his own triple. Haralson made two more foul shots to put the Tigers up 58-56, but Jared Bonds went up for a dunk, and the game was tied once more.
Fishers held the ball for nearly a minute and a half waiting for a last-second shot, but after a timeout with 14.2 seconds left, Orme stole the ball, and took it in for the game-winner.
“It was something I saw developing,” said Orme. “As he was going over that screen, I thought maybe I can get on his hip, get a deflection, get out on the run. And it just led to a fast break, and converted and then a key stop at the end. Just win the game.”
“Sam just made a play,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “He’s had a great start to the year. He’s been super-efficient on the offensive end and has made leader-type plays. He’s really propelled this group to a good start.”
Both teams made small runs throughout the game, but since neither team led by more than seven points, even those small runs seemed big. The Greyhounds made the first run, a 6-0 stretch to get up 16-9 in the first quarter. Spencer White and Owen Huber sandwiched layins between two free throws from Jake Griffin.
The Tigers’ Keegan Garner made two free throws for the final points of the quarter, and that started a 7-0 run for Fishers. Haralson threw in a 3-pointer, then a Garner basket tied the game. The remainder of the second period became a back-and-forth, which ended when Haralson drained another 3 to give the Tigers a 23-22 halftime lead.
“And I thought we did all the things that we talked about,” said Osborn. “We were doing some positive things. They hit some shots. They made some good plays. The biggest thing is keeping them off the boards, and we’re going to have to figure that out. We have to be a more relentless team on the glass.”
Fishers opened the second half with two more 3s, one each from Taden Metzger and Haralson, and the Tigers were up 29-22. Another Metzger triple gave Fishers a 34-27 advantage midway through the third.
Carmel blasted back with its own 9-0 run to take a 36-34 lead. Bonds and Couto made layins, then Orme stepped up with a 3 and a dunk. Two free throws from Ryan Clevenger put Carmel up 40-37, but Metzger’s 3 finished the quarter, and the game was tied again at 40-40.
It was Griffin’s turn to start the fourth quarter, and he pushed Carmel ahead 45-40 with a layin and a 3. Then Fishers went on an 8-0 run – Garner was good on a three-point play, then Zimmer hit two free throws and a triple.
Haralson’s and-1 put Fishers up 51-49 with 1:53 left in regulation, and Orme tied it up with a layin. The Tigers held for a last shot, but it didn’t go, which sent the game to overtime.
Orme led Carmel with 25 points and four rebounds. He said that over his last two years on the Greyhounds team, “I’ve seen seniors step into that role, so I’ve had to step into that role my own self and I felt like I did a pretty good job of that tonight, not letting them get too much momentum down the stretch.”
“And he’s been around,” said Osborn. “He’s been around some good teams, been around some good players. He’s a great kid, he’s stepping into his own and providing a lot for us on both ends of the floor. I think you can say that for a lot of our seniors.”
Griffin added 12 points for Carmel.
“Jake has guarded the other team’s best player at some point during every game,” said Osborn. The coach noted that Griffin “was sick all of last week and then came in late in the week and guarded two really good players” during Carmel’s Friday and Saturday games. Then he practiced on Monday and came back to play another game on Tuesday.
“He doesn’t say a word,” said Osborn. “He’ll do anything you ask him to do.”
Haralson also scored 25 points and dished out four assists, while Garner scored 12 points. Parker Perdue collected six rebounds.
“I thought we played better tonight,” said Fishers coach Garrett Winegar. “I think we’re getting better. Like I said after that game, we’re trying to figure it out. I think they’re learning to play hard and play together.
“All these guys outside of Jalen haven’t really played with us. We’re figuring out at the end of games where the ball needs to be and how we need to execute in those situations and most of those guys just haven’t been in those situations. It’s on me, I got to prepare them better for those situations and obviously they got to be ready to make some big plays in those big moments.”
Carmel is 4-1 and plays at Noblesville Friday. Fishers is 3-3 and takes on Bloomington North Saturday at the Forum Tip-Off Classic at Southport.
CARMEL 60, FISHERS 58
(overtime)
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Jake Griffin 3-4 5-7 13 2
Alex Couto 3-6 0-1 7 0
Spencer White 2-3 0-0 5 5
Sam Orme 11-13 1-1 25 3
Jared Bonds 3-5 0-0 6 2
Owen Huber 1-1 0-0 2 2
Logan Reinhart 0-0 0-0 0 0
Ryan Clevenger 0-2 2-2 2 2
Totals 23-34 8-11 60 16
Carmel 3-point shooting (6-8) Griffin 2-3, Orme 2-2, Couto 1-2, White 1-1.
Carmel rebounds (13) Orme 4, Couto 3, Griffin 2, White 2, Bonds 2.
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Taden Metzger 3-6 0-0 9 3
Jalen Haralson 7-18 8-9 25 2
Parker Perdue 0-4 0-0 0 1
JonAnthony Hall 2-2 0-0 4 2
Keenan Garner 3-6 6-7 12 3
Millen McCartney 0-0 0-0 0 1
Aidan Zimmer 2-3 2-2 8 0
Grant Ables 0-0 0-0 0 0
Grant Haworth 0-0 0-0 0 0
James Stasey 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 17-39 16-18 58 13
Fishers 3-point shooting (8-22) Haralson 3-10, Metzger 3-6, Zimmer 2-3, Perdue 0-3.
Fishers rebounds (19) Perdue 6, Haralson 4, Garner 4, Hall 2, Metzger 1, McCartney 1, Zimmer 1.
Score by Quarters
Carmel 16 6 18 11 9 – 60
Fishers 11 12 17 11 7 – 58
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