By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – After graduating seven seniors from last year’s state championship team, this year’s Carmel team had a blank slate to write its own story.
“What kind of story do you want to write?” said Greyhounds coach Ryan Osborn. “And they started at the beginning. They had to create their own identity.”
That story completed a chapter on Saturday, and it ended with Carmel winning another sectional championship. The Greyhounds beat Westfield 54-41 to win Class 4A Sectional 8 at Noblesville.
“They believe,” said Osborn. “It takes a lot of work. They’re challenged daily. They enjoy it. They see results and it inspires them to come back and get some more.”
Carmel is not only writing a story, but also some more history. This is the 30th sectional title for the ‘Hounds and their sixth consecutive trophy. The last time Carmel had such a long sectional streak was half a century ago, when it won nine straight between 1966 and 1974.
“It’s awesome,” said junior Brian Waddell. “Watching the older guys do it last year and the year before that, it was something that inspired me, and it’s really cool to come out here and do it ourselves.”
After some initial back and forth, the Greyhounds took control of the first quarter, leading 16-7 by the end of the period. Waddell, Peter Suder and Josh Whack all hit early 3s, then Suder scored the final seven points of the quarter, finishing with another 3.
The Carmel lead swelled to 21-9 early in the second after Waddell opened the period with a layin and Jackson Jannsen nailed a 3. The Shamrocks went on a 6-0 run late, with Cam Haffner’s basket off a Camden Simons steal cutting the Greyhounds’ lead to 23-15. But Waddell finished the half with a triple, giving Carmel a 26-15 lead at the break.
Westfield started the second half with another run, outscoring the ‘Hounds 10-3 to get within 29-25. Haffner added another five points, including a 3. Waddell halted the run with his own 3, but Braden Smith was fouled while attempting a long-range shot, and made all three free throws.
Thus the ‘Rocks were within 32-28 with 2:27 left in the third. But Carmel finished the quarter on a 6-0 run, giving it a 38-28 lead. Suder, Charlie Williams and Waddell all made baskets during the run.
Westfield battled to the end, but as they always seem to do, the Greyhounds made the baskets and free throws they needed to stay ahead. Suder drained a 3 early in the quarter to put Carmel up 41-30.
The Shamrocks got the lead down to 41-35 after Smith converted a three-point play, and were still within 47-41 with 57.9 seconds left. But Waddell took over after that, scoring the game’s final seven points. The junior, who missed games due to injuries, went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, and also made a Carmel crowd-pleasing dunk.
“I didn’t come out of the year like I wanted to,” said Waddell. “After the injury, I came out more motivated and ready to go. Worked on my jump shot a lot and that really got me going.”
“He’s been really good for us in the last half of the season,” said Osborn. “He came back from his injury and he’s gained confidence.”
Waddell led all scorers with 26 points, with Suder adding 17 points. Both made three 3-pointers. Waddell also led the rebounds with six, followed by Williams with five. Connor Gioia dished out six assists, while Whack handed out five.
“Connor is an unsung hero in all this, because he impacts the game for us in a lot of different ways,” said Osborn. “He handles pressure for 32 minutes. He never comes out of the game.”
Smith and Haffner, both sophomores, scored 17 points for the Shamrocks, with Haffner making three 3s. Matthew Penley and Nic DePasquale both collected four rebounds. Westfield finished its season 17-7.
“We’re building something here and I’m proud of it, of what we’ve done,” said Shamrocks coach Shane Sumpter. “It’s always disappointing when we lose, but I’m proud of our guys and proud of our seniors.”
Carmel is now 18-7 and will play New Haven in the second semi-final at the Logansport regional next Saturday. The Bulldogs squeaked past Homestead 46-44 to win the Huntington North sectional.
The first semi-final at Logansport (to start at 10 a.m.) will feature Marion taking on Fort Wayne Snider. The Snider Panthers won the Fort Wayne Carroll sectional 59-56 over Fort Wayne Northrop, while the Giants also won a close one, 63-62, to triumph at the Lafayette Jefferson sectional. Marion has now won 70 sectional titles – only two other schools, Kokomo (74) and Vincennes Lincoln (71) have won more.
CARMEL 54, WESTFIELD 41
Westfield FG FT TP PF
Braden Smith 5-11 7-8 17 3
Benji Welch 0-1 0-0 0 3
Cam Haffner 7-15 0-0 17 1
Nic DePasquale 0-3 0-0 0 2
Camden Simons 1-2 0-0 2 0
Matthew Penley 1-3 3-4 5 3
Eli Patchett 0-1 0-0 0 2
Saaki Vishnumolakala 0-0 0-0 0 0
Zach Byrer 0-0 0-0 0 0
Trey Dorton 0-0 0-0 0 0
Luke Naas 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 14-36 10-12 41 14
Westfield 3-point shooting (3-15) Haffner 3-8, Smith 0-5, Welch 0-1, Penley 0-1.
Westfield rebounds (17) Penley 4, DePasquale 4, Haffner 3, Smith 2, Simons 2, Patchett 1, Vishnumolakala 1.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Connor Gioia 0-4 0-1 0 3
Peter Suder 5-9 4-4 17 1
Brian Waddell 7-9 9-10 26 2
Josh Whack 1-2 0-0 3 0
Charlie Williams 2-5 1-2 5 0
Nick Frische 0-0 0-0 0 1
Jackson Jannsen 1-3 0-0 3 0
Spencer White 0-0 0-0 0 0
Sam Orme 0-0 0-0 0 0
Bryce Beery 0-0 0-0 0 0
Burke Weldy 0-0 0-0 0 0
Wil Leary 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 16-32 14-17 54 7
Carmel 3-point shooting (8-13) Suder 3-5, Waddell 3-3, Jannsen 1-3, Whack 1-1, Gioia 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (21) Waddell 6, Williams 5, Suder 4, Gioia 2, Frische 2, Orme 1, Whack 1.
Score by Quarters
Westfield 7 8 13 13 – 41
Carmel 16 10 12 16 – 54
The Carmel boys basketball team won its sixth straight sectional championship Saturday, beating Westfield 54-41 at The Mill in Noblesville. The Greyhounds advance to the Logansport regional, where they will play New Haven in the semi-finals next Saturday.
Braden Smith (left) scored 17 points for Westfield, while Brian Waddell had 26 points for Carmel. (Kent Graham)