By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Carmel’s defense went to another level on Saturday, and that gave the Greyhounds another sectional championship.
Second-ranked Carmel dominated the Class 4A Sectional 8 final at its own Eric Clark Activity Center, overwhelming Westfield 53-27. It’s the 31st overall sectional title for the Greyhounds as well as their seventh in a row – a streak not seen since the days of the Shepherds in the 1960s and 1970s.
“This group is special,” said senior Brian Waddell. “You always watched Carmel teams when we were little, coming here and winning sectional championships. When I was younger watching older guys do it and to be able to be a part of it now is something special.”
The Greyhounds’ performance was all the more remarkable because it came against a high-flying Shamrocks team that averaged 66 points per game this season, and had scored 81 points the night before in a semi-final win over Noblesville. But Carmel’s defense ruled from the first minute of the game to the last, never allowing Westfield more than seven points during a quarter.
“We have good team defense,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “But our team wouldn’t be as good as it is if the kids weren’t totally bought into it. Over time, they’ve seen the development, they’ve seen the growth. They’ve soaked it all in and embraced it, and now they convince themselves that it’s important. So, you get their best effort every night.”
The ‘Hounds led from the start, with Brian Waddell hitting a 3-pointer to start the game. A layin by Charlie Williams made the score 5-0 before the Shamrocks’ Braden Smith got his team on the board by making a floater.
Josh Whack drained a triple for Carmel, which Smith answered with his own triple. The Greyhounds then finished the quarter on an 8-2 run, with Peter Suder’s jumper finishing the period and giving Carmel a 16-7 lead.
Smith opened the second quarter with a 3, but that was answered by a basket from Williams and two free throws by Waddell. Those points gave Carmel a 20-10 lead. Westfield cut that to 20-14 after a foul shot by Smith and a 3 from Cam Haffner – that four-point run was the longest for the ‘Rocks in the game.
The Greyhounds responded with an 11-0 run that stretched into the third quarter. Williams made a hook shot, Connor Gioia was good on a layin and Wil Leary finished the half with a 3-pointer to give Carmel a 27-14 lead.
Williams started the third quarter strong, making back-to-back layins to gave the Greyhounds a 31-14 lead. Smith ended the run with his own layin, but another basket by Williams put Carmel ahead 33-16.
“It’s definitely one of the better games I’ve had this season, but I just got to give it to my teammates,” said Williams. “They got me going.”
Waddell provided some excitement with back-to-back baskets, the second of which was a slam dunk. The Greyhounds finished the third quarter on a 7-0 run, which consisted of a Williams putback, a three-point play by Gioia and two free throws by Suder.
Carmel led 44-21 after three periods, and kept its lead above 20 points for the entire fourth quarter. Williams scored five points during that period, including a dunk. Whack added four points from the Greyhounds by going 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Williams had a dominant game, scoring 19 points on 9-of-10 field-goal shooting, and also collecting five rebounds. Waddell added 13 points. Suder pulled seven rebounds and handed out five assists, while Whack dished out four assists.
Smith scored 18 points and pulled five rebounds for Westfield, which finished its season 18-5.
Carmel is now 22-2 and advances to next Saturday’s Logansport regional. The Greyhounds will take on No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Homestead in the first semi-final, which tips off at 10 a.m. The Spartans won the Columbia City sectional Saturday with a 75-56 victory over New Haven, making them 25-0 for the season.
CARMEL 53, WESTFIELD 27
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Connor Gioia 3-5 1-4 7 2
Josh Whack 1-4 4-4 7 1
Peter Suder 1-4 2-2 4 3
Brian Waddell 5-7 2-2 13 3
Charlie Williams 9-10 1-2 19 1
Sam Orme 0-2 0-0 0 0
Wil Leary 1-1 0-0 3 0
Nick Frische 0-0 0-0 0 1
Josh Rauh 0-0 0-0 0 1
Bryce Beery 0-0 0-0 0 0
Burke Weldy 0-0 0-0 0 0
Jared Bonds 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 20-33 10-14 53 12
Carmel 3-point shooting (3-8) Whack 1-3, Waddell 1-2, Leary 1-1, Orme 0-2.
Carmel rebounds (28) Suder 7, Williams 5, Whack 4, Waddell 4, Frische 4, Gioia 2, Beery 1, Leary 1.
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Braden Smith 6-15 4-5 18 3
Benji Welch 0-3 2-2 2 0
Matthew Penley 1-5 0-0 2 5
Cam Haffner 1-9 0-0 3 1
Nic Depasquale 0-1 0-0 0 0
Luke Naas 1-3 0-0 2 1
Luke Van Dyke 0-1 0-0 0 2
Trey Dorton 0-0 0-0 0 0
Alex Wolf 0-0 0-0 0 0
Kai Butterworth 0-0 0-0 0 0
Sam Bishop 0-0 0-0 0 0
Alex Romack 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 9-37 6-7 27 12
Westfield 3-point shooting (3-20) Smith 2-6, Haffner 1-7, Welch 0-2, Naas 0-2, Penley 0-2, Van Dyke 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (14) Smith 5, Haffner 3, Penley 2, Depasquale 2, Welch 1, Naas 1.
Score by Quarters
Carmel 16 11 17 9 – 53
Westfield 7 7 7 6 – 27