BY RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Winning a boys basketball sectional championship is never as easy as it looks.
Just ask Carmel, which successfully defended its home gym Saturday night by winning the Class 4A Sectional 8 title at the Eric Clark Activity Center. The No. 1-ranked Greyhounds had to fight for the entire game against old rival Hamilton Southeastern, but found a way to a 45-39 victory. This is the fifth straight sectional championship for Carmel and qualifies the ‘Hounds for the Logansport regional, where they will play Fort Wayne Northrop in the first game, at 10 a.m. next Saturday.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and you got to give those guys credit,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “They fought. It was one of the most back-and-forth games that I’ve been a part of. I was happy the most with our guys responding. It’s not like they got punched in the mouth and they took it, they sat back and took it. They came back and they battled. I thought they were tough.”
The Greyhounds never trailed in the game, and were only tied once: Carmel’s Andrew Owens opened the contest with a 3-pointer, but the Royals’ Vinny Buccilla answered that with a three-point play.
Karsten Windlan’s jumper got the ‘Hounds ahead 5-3. Seconds later, Windlan and Owens made back-to-back 3s, putting Carmel up 11-4.
The Greyhounds led 13-9 after the first quarter, and quickly extended the lead to 15-9 after John Michael Mulloy made a layin and Windlan converted two free throws. Southeastern’s Kole Hornbuckle nearly brought the Royals all the way back, draining a 3, then scoring off a steal. Mulloy got the lead back to five with a layin, but Chris Grubbs nailed a triple, and got HSE within 19-17.
The Royals were without injured starting guard Noah Smith, so several players stepped up for Southeastern. Osborn praised the Royals on their effort after the game, calling them “a good, talented team.”
“They’re really good as far as keeping guys off the boards and limiting extra possessions,” said Osborn. “Against a team like that, they go 7-2, 6-7, 6-6, 6-6 to start the game. And they’re flying in there. I think the first seven possessions they get five offensive rebounds.
“Our guys battled. Andrew comes out with a lip cut and bleeding everywhere, and he gets it fixed and he’s right back in there, and he battles for the rest of the game.”
Grubbs would later make 3 of 4 foul shots with under 12 seconds left in the second quarter (on separate fouls), cutting Carmel’s lead to 21-20. But Greyhounds freshman Pete Suder put in a layin with time running out in the half, giving Carmel a 23-20 halftime lead.
“Before the game, we always tell each other, ‘There’s going to be some runs, but we got to stick together and play as a team,'” said Windlan. “We really bought into that.”
The third quarter was a defensive one, as both teams scored eight points. Southeastern got within one point twice, including at 27-26 when Landon Morris hit a jump shot. Mulloy made two foul shots, then Suder scored again to get the lead back to 31-26.
The Royals had the last word of the period, as Aaron Etherington’s floater kept the Royals within 31-28. But Carmel got going in the fourth, beginning the quarter with an 8-0 run. Windlan started the run with a free throw, Suder made a layin, then Mulloy converted a three-point play to give the ‘Hounds their biggest lead, 37-28. Windlan scored soon after, and Carmel was up 39-28.
“The great thing is, we can say we’ve been here before,” said Mulloy. “And it was awesome just to know that we were able to focus in on things. We have a freshman (Suder) starting. He’s learning and it’s a great time to lead and just show the younger kids what to do and to step up and that’s what they’re doing.”
Southeastern made one last push with under two minutes left: Grubbs drained two free throws, then Etherington dunked a rebound, keeping HSE within 41-36 with 1:17 left. But the clock was on Carmel’s side by now. Owens made a layin with under a minute to go, then Mulloy made two free throws with 15 seconds left.
Mulloy scored 19 points and Windlan added 10; both collected eight rebounds. Owens also scored 10 points.
Grubbs scored 12 points and pulled seven rebounds for Southeastern, which finished the season 16-9. Morris and Mabor Majak each grabbed six rebounds, and Etherington dished out four assists.
Carmel’s win marked the boys basketball program’s 29th sectional championship, and the third time that the Greyhounds have won five in a row. Carmel won nine consecutive titles between 1966 and 1974, then collected five straight championships between 1976 and 1980.
Carmel 45, Hamilton Southeastern 39
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Aaron Etherington 2-10 0-0 4 3
Chris Grubbs 3-7 5-6 12 1
Vinny Buccilla 2-9 1-1 6 0
Landon Morris 2-6 1-3 5 4
Mabor Majak 1-2 2-5 4 4
Kole Hornbuckle 2-2 0-0 5 2
Bradley Beemon 0-1 0-0 0 0
Elliott Robinson 1-1 0-0 3 1
Brandon Miller 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 13-38 9-15 39 15
Southeastern 3-point shooting (4-14) Buccilla 1-4, Grubbs 1-3, Hornbuckle 1-1, Robinson 1-1, Etherington 0-3, Beemon 0-1, Morris 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (27) Grubbs 7, Morris 6, Majak 6, Etherington 2, Hornbuckle 2, Beemon 1, Buccilla 1, team 2.
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Karsten Windlan 3-10 3-4 10 3
Pete Suder 3-4 0-0 6 3
Luke Heady 0-3 0-1 0 3
Andrew Owens 4-9 0-1 10 1
John Michael Mulloy 3-6 13-13 19 4
Robert Fry 0-1 0-0 0 1
Ben Frische 0-1 0-0 0 0
Conner Gioia 0-0 0-0 0 1
Totals 13-34 16-19 45 16
Carmel 3-point shooting (3-16) Owens 2-6, Windlan 1-6, Heady 0-2, Suder 0-1, Owens 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (27) Windlan 8, Mulloy 8, Owens 4, Frische 3, Heady 2, Gioia 1, Suder 1.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 9 11 8 11 – 39
Carmel 13 10 8 14 – 45
The Carmel boys basketball team won its fifth consecutive sectional championship Saturday at the Eric Clark Activity Center. The No. 1-ranked Greyhounds held off Hamilton Southeastern 45-39 for the title, and will next play at the Logansport regional next Saturday. (Kirk Green)
Hamilton Southeastern’s Mabor Majak goes up to the basket during the Sectional 8 championship game Saturday night. The Royals gave Carmel a tough battle before falling 45-39, finishing their season with a 16-9 record. (Kent Graham)