By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – For the past few years, there have been several close battles between the Carmel and Fishers boys basketball teams.
This year’s game between the Class 4A No. 9 Greyhounds and the 4A No. 5 Tigers was no exception. The difference was the first few minutes, as Carmel got off to a hot start, and that momentum carried the ‘Hounds to 44-39 win Saturday at the Eric Clark Activity Center.
The victory improved Carmel’s record to 4-2 for the season, while Fishers was dealt its first loss of the 2021-22 campaign.
“They’re tough, they play hard,” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn of the Tigers. “They return some veteran guys that have played. If I can remember right, some of them played as freshmen. I know (senior Jeffrey) Simmons started as a freshman. Those guys have been around a long time. They bring a couple guys off the bench that played heavy minutes for them last year, had big roles on that team, so they’ve been around the block. They come ready to play, they have maturity and a game plan and they play to win.”
Carmel also plays to win, and the Greyhounds proved that right away. Senior Peter Suder gave Carmel an instant spark, scoring the game’s first seven points. Just like that, the ‘Hounds were up 7-0.
“It was great,” said Osborn. “I was excited to see him go like that, play with some confidence, tried to continue to screen for him and get him the ball. But he’s such an unselfish kid. He looks for other guys. He wants to win. He didn’t force anything, he made simple plays, and that’s what senior veteran players do.”
Suder, who has also been starting since his freshman year, gave all the credit to his teammates.
“Just getting me open, boosting my confidence,” said Suder. “They always hype me up and make me feel good about myself. It’s all confidence.”
Carmel kept going after its hot start, eventually leading 17-7 at the end of the first period. Josh Whack and Sam Orme both had five points for the Greyhounds, with each player hitting a 3-pointer.
“You can’t get down 7-0 to a team that good,” said Fishers coach Garrett Winegar. “You got to come ready to play. Took some poor shots in the first three minutes. It’s a team where, if you take bad shots, they’re going to make you pay for it. And at the beginning, it was like we couldn’t wait to shoot a bad shot.”
Fishers began to work its way back into the game in the second period. Simmons got going, scoring nine points during that quarter, and his three-point play got the Tigers with 21-17. Carmel pushed its lead back to 25-17, as Charlie Williams made a layin and Whack scored off a rebound. Simmons finished the quarter by making two free throws, cutting the Greyhounds’ lead to 25-19 at halftime.
“From there, I thought we played right with them, we just couldn’t overcome that seven-point lead they got at the beginning,” said Winegar.
Simmons’ foul shots wound up being the start of an 11-2 run that took up the first three minutes of the third quarter. Freshman Jalen Haralson stepped up, scoring six points, and it was his layin that gave Fishers a 28-27 lead.
That would be the only time the Tigers would be in front, however. Suder got Carmel back ahead with a steal, which he turned into a crowd-pleasing one-handed dunk. Later, Suder threw in a 3-pointer. Carmel was back up 32-28 just like that, and the ‘Hounds would lead from that point forward.
“It takes all of us,” said Suder. “Even the guys on the bench. The bench energy was crazy tonight. It was great. We got guys that want to do it all. Sam Orme came in, he just lets the game come to him. He doesn’t force things. From the first four games, I think we definitely improved in defense and just connection over team bonding.”
Fishers’ Bryce Williams scored the last basket of the third quarter, keeping the Tigers with 34-32. But the ‘Hounds opened the fourth with a 6-0 run, and that was enough to keep Carmel in front. Fishers made one last push, getting with 42-39 with 27 seconds left, but Orme sealed the win with two free throws.
“We’re finding that toughness that it takes to finish possessions,” said Osborn. “And that’s where you want to see a team that’s still trying to come together grow, because once you start finishing those possessions, the confidence builds within that unit. I think you see different people step up at different times. That’s great for this team, and especially when they enjoy playing defense.”
Suder scored 18 points for Carmel, with Orme adding nine points. Williams contributed eight points and Whack scored seven.
Simmons led Fishers with 19 points, while Haralson scored nine.
Carmel hosts North Central Friday in a Metropolitan Conference game. Fishers, now 5-1, travels to Hamilton Southeastern for the Mudsock game.
CARMEL 44, FISHERS 39
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Myles Stringer 0 0-0 0 1
Jalen Haralson 3 3-4 9 4
Bryce Williams 3 0-0 6 1
Charles Smith 0 0-0 0 4
Payton Weemer 1 0-0 3 0
Sean Millsaps 1 0-0 2 3
Jeffrey Simmons 4 9-9 19 0
Aidan Zimmer 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 12 12-13 39 13
Fishers 3-pointers (3) Simmons 2, Weemer 1.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Josh Whack 3 0-0 7 2
Peter Suder 6 4-4 18 3
Sam Orme 3 2-3 9 1
Burke Weldy 1 0-0 2 1
Charlie Williams 3 2-2 8 3
Spencer White 0 0-0 0 0
Jared Bonds 0 0-0 0 2
Andrew Clevenger 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 16 8-9 44 12
Carmel 3-pointers (4) Suder 2, Whack 1, Orme 1.
Score by Quarters
Fishers 7 12 13 7 – 39
Carmel 17 8 9 10 – 44