By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – This year’s senior class at Carmel has won many games, four straight sectional titles and made it all the way to the Class 4A state championship game last season.
But there was thing the Greyhounds’ Class of 2019 hadn’t done yet: Win a Metropolitan Conference championship.
Carmel finally took care of that little detail Friday night in front of a packed Eric Clark Activity Center. The 4A No. 2 Greyhounds got off to a fast start and led No. 1 Warren Central the entire game, eventually winning 69-52. That gave Carmel the MIC championship, its first since the 2014-15 season. The ‘Hounds finished conference play a perfect 7-0.
“It feels awesome,” said senior Luke Heady. “To be the undisputed MIC champions is something special and really hard to do, considering the MIC is probably one of the toughest conferences in the country. It really just feels good to get the win at home in front of our crowd.”
The Greyhounds led 13-1 midway through the first quarter. Heady hit two 3-pointers during the run, with Andrew Owens adding five points. The Warriors made their own 8-0 run to get with 13-9, but Karsten Windlan’s layin put Carmel ahead 15-9 after one.
Jesse Bingham opened the second quarter with a basket, bringing Warren within 15-11. The ‘Hounds answered that with nine straight points. Windlan took over the game, scoring the first seven points of that run, then Ben Frische added a pair of free throws. That made Carmel’s lead 24-11 with 3:38 left in the half.
“My whole life, I just really wanted to come out and play in a packed crowd like this and have a good Indiana high school basketball game,” said Windlan. “So that was really fun. I’m a really emotional, high-energy guy. I just feed off the crowd.”
Windlan ended the second quarter like he did the first, with another layin to make the score 31-18. John Michael Mulloy got his first three points of the game late in the period, but he also had eight rebounds.
The Warriors scored two very quick baskets to open the third quarter, necessitating a Carmel timeout just 17 seconds into the half. Shawn Beeler then nailed a 3-pointer, cutting the Greyhounds’ lead to 31-25.
But Warren Central’s momentum stopped when its bench was called for two technical fouls, sending coach Criss Beyers to the locker room and Carmel to the free throw line, where Heady made three of four foul shots. Seconds later, Heady drained his third 3-pointer of the game, pushing the ‘Hounds back up 37-25.
The Warriors stayed close in the third quarter thanks to their long-range shooting, hitting five 3s during the period. Back-to-back triples from Bingham and Jakobie Robinson got Warren within 39-34.
Carmel needed some baskets, and it got them from the seniors. Mulloy scored, then Windlan grabbed a rebound and took it coast to coast for an easy layin, putting the Greyhounds up 43-34. The Warriors cut the lead to six three more times in the period, but Carmel finished the third up 51-41, after another Windlan basket and two Mulloy foul shots.
Greyhounds freshman Peter Suder opened the fourth quarter with two more free throws, putting Carmel ahead 53-41. Bingham made one more 3 for the Warriors, but baskets by Suder and Owens got the Greyhounds a 57-44 lead, and their advantage would stay above 10 points for the remainder of the game. Carmel finished things out from the line, making 12 of 14 free throws in the final 5:08.
Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn gave credit to his team’s veteran leadership after the game.
“It can be a long, grueling season,” said Osborn. “And I felt like there was a stretch in January where we lost some joy. We just didn’t have a whole lot of passion. And I think we’re starting to get that back. And you can see the guys get excited for each other. That’s half the battle. If they’re cheering for each other, stuff goes well, they’re excited for each other, I think that as a coach, that tells you that you’ve still got some growing to do and there could be good things ahead. That’s probably what I’m most proud of.”
Four Greyhounds reached double figures. Windlan led the way with 19 points and five rebounds, while Heady scored 18, including three 3-pointers. Mulloy reached double-double status by collecting 13 rebounds to go with 11 points; he also dished out four assists. Suder scored 10 and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Carmel is now 18-1 and will host Warsaw at 7:30 p.m. tonight.
Carmel 69, Warren Central 52
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Karsten Windlan 6-9 6-7 19 4
Peter Suder 2-3 6-6 10 1
Luke Heady 3-4 9-12 18 3
Andrew Owens 3-4 0-0 7 2
John Michael Mulloy 2-5 7-8 11 3
Conner Gioia 0-0 0-0 0 2
Ben Frische 1-1 2-2 4 0
Totals 17-26 30-35 69 15
Score by Quarters
Warren Central 9 9 23 11 – 52
Carmel 15 16 20 18 – 69
Carmel 3-point shooting (5-8) Heady 3-3, Windlan 1-3, Owens 1-1, Suder 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (25) Mulloy 13, Windlan 5, Owens 4, Suder 2, Frische 1.