The REPORTER
On Friday night at the Eric Clark Activity Center, Carmel and North Central battled it out in boys basketball for the 46th time in the storied history between these two programs. Prior to this matchup, the Panthers held a 23-22 edge in the all-time series.
After a five-point lead at halftime, the Panthers were able to outlast the host ‘Hounds 53-50.
Carmel opened up with a 16-13 lead through one quarter and was able to keep its home court momentum going in the second, outscoring North Central 14-12, grabbing a 30-25 halftime lead,
North Central stormed out in the third, holding Carmel under 10 points with a 16-9, giving the Panthers a two-point 41-39 advantage.
The Greyhounds stuck with their former MIC rival, but the Panthers were able to outlast Carmel by a 53-50 score.
Sophomore Evan Harrell led all scorers with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Junior Alex Couto had 12 points, knocking down 4-for-8 from three-point range and senior Ryan Clevenger added 10 while making 2-of-5 from downtown.
Carmel (2-4) has now lost three in a row for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The ‘Hounds keep the weekend going at home tonight when they host the Class 4A No. 8 Kokomo Wildkats (5-2) and highly-touted Kansas-signee and Mr. Basketball candidate Flory Bidunga.
NORTH CENTRAL 53, CARMEL 50
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Alex Couto 4-8 0-0 12 1
Ryan Clevenger 3-8 2-3 10 1
Evan Harrell 9-11 2-3 20 1
Quinn Murphy 2-2 2-2 6 3
Mitchell Mulloy 0-2 2-2 2 4
Aiden Dickerson 0-0 0-0 0 3
Julian Vogt 0-2 0-0 0 0
Max Winders 0-0 0-0 0 2
Totals 18-33 8-10 50 15
Score by Quarters
North Central 13 12 16 12 – 53
Carmel 16 14 9 11 – 50
Carmel 3-point shooting (6-14) Couto 4-8, Clevenger 2-5, Vogt 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (15) Harrell 5, Murphy 4, Dickerson 2, Mulloy 2, Couto 1, Clevenger 1.