By RICHIE HALL
LAFAYETTE – The Greyhounds were aiming for a return to the state finals, and their aim was true.
Carmel scored an overwhelming victory over Penn in Saturday afternoon’s Class 4A boys basketball north semi-state at Lafayette Jefferson, beating the Kingsmen 71-42. With the win, the No. 1-ranked Greyhounds will be heading back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse next Saturday to play for the 4A state championship.
Four seniors were among the five starters on the 2019 semi-state championship team, and the experience led the ‘Hounds to a dominant performance.
“They’re dialed in,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “That’s all you can ask for right now.”
The Greyhounds led 13-3 after the first quarter, with two seniors providing the points. Karsten Windlan scored seven of those points, with John Michael Mulloy scoring the other six.
Carmel kept it rolling in the second period, forcing Penn into a series of missed shots while making timely baskets of its own. The Greyhounds led 18-3, then Andrew Owens threw in a pair of baskets to get Carmel ahead 24-5. Finally, the ‘Hounds ran the clock down in the final 90 seconds, and freshman Pete Suder hit a buzzer-beater to give Carmel a 28-8 halftime lead.
“We knew in order to win the game, we got to get it in the post and get them in foul trouble,” said Owens. “I think we did a great job of that.”
“It’s an unselfish team,” said Osborn. “And they want to score and they know that our best possessions are the ones where they’re assisted.”
“We came out and hit some shots, got John Michael going down low,” said senior Luke Heady. “We kind of got them on their heels, but respected them. They came out and hit some shots in the second half and stuck around there. Then Andrew started to hit some shots and we just really played really good defensively. We just didn’t let them get going. We didn’t let them go on big runs, and I think that, this year especially, we’ve been really good at.”
Owens added nine more points in the third quarter, which ended with the Greyhounds leading 44-19. Penn’s offense got going to the tune of 23 points in the fourth period, but Carmel scored 27, thanks to its free throw shooting. The ‘Hounds made 19 of 22 foul shots in the fourth, with Mulloy and Suder both hitting 5 of 6. Carmel cleared out its bench in the final two minutes, and Cole Brady provided the exclamation point with a dunk.
Four Greyhounds finished in double figures. Mulloy led with 16 points, followed by Suder and Owens with 15 each. Windlan finished with 14 points, also making four steals. Windlan, Suder and Heady all pulled five rebounds.
Carmel will play Ben Davis in the 4A state championship game next week. The Giants won the 4A south semi-state in Washington by beating Center Grove 67-61. The Greyhounds finished as runners-up to Warren Central last season, but Osborn is more interested in looking ahead than back.
“This is a new year and you can’t take what we did last year away, and I think if you look at it as a disappointment, then you don’t celebrate being state runners-up,” said Osborn. “And that’s a huge accomplishment in my opinion. The experience of getting through the routines and getting to this point, I think was important. But they’re a confident group and I’m proud of them.”
Carmel 71, Penn 42
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Karsten Windlan 5-12 3-4 14 2
Pete Suder 5-8 5-6 15 3
Luke Heady 1-1 2-2 5 1
Andrew Owens 5-13 4-4 15 2
John Michael Mulloy 5-9 6-7 16 3
Robert Fry 1-1 2-2 4 2
Ben Frische 0-0 0-0 0 2
Jackson Jannsen 0-0 0-0 0 0
Connor Gioia 0-0 0-0 0 0
Conner Wemhoff 0-0 0-0 0 0
Brian Waddell 0-0 0-0 0 0
Cole Brady 1-1 0-0 2 0
Totals 23-45 22-25 71 15
Score by Quarters
Carmel 13 15 16 27 – 71
Penn 3 5 11 23 – 42
Carmel 3-point shooting (3-11) Owens 1-6, Windlan 1-4, Heady 1-1.
Carmel rebounds (28) Windlan 5, Suder 5, Heady 5, Owens 3, Mulloy 3, Jannsen 1, Fry 1, team 5.
Carmel freshman Pete Suder scored 15 points for the Greyhounds during their semi-state victory over Penn Saturday at Lafayette Jefferson. Carmel beat Penn 71-42 for the semi-state championship and will play Ben Davis next Saturday for the Class 4A state championship. (Richie Hall)