By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – A fast start got Fishers into the Sectional 8 semifinals.
The Class 4A No. 1 Tigers blasted out of the gate and carried that momentum to a 54-41 victory over Carmel in the first round of sectional action at The Mill in Noblesville. Fishers will take on Hamilton Southeastern in Friday’s second semifinal.
The Greyhounds, ranked No. 16 in the IBCA one-class poll, had handed the Tigers their only loss of the season exactly one month ago (Jan. 27). Fishers junior JonAnthony Hall said his team was “so focused” as it was coming into the game.
“That’s all we worried about,” said Hall. “As soon as we beat North Central, we just attacked that film. We went over and over and over again like it was ingrained in our head.”
That preparation showed itself in the first quarter. The Tigers scored the first 12 points of the game: Hall started things with a layin, then Millen McCartney alternated two 3-pointers with a pair of Keenan Garner baskets.
Carmel worked its way back to 16-7 with an Alex Couto 3 and Ryan Clevenger layin, but Fishers’ Justin Kirby answered that with a triple, and Parker Perdue finished the quarter with a pair of free throws, giving the Tigers a 21-7 lead.
“We talked all week about, they’re so disciplined, they’re so well-coached that if you get behind on them, it’s really hard to come back,” said Fishers coach Garrett Winegar. “We dealt with that last time, so we had a big focus on getting a great start. We had a lot of actions that we felt would be successful that we really worked on and they worked for us.”
Carmel continued to press throughout the game, and a Ben Bremer triple got the ‘Hounds within 23-14 in the second quarter. The Tigers answered that with a 7-0 run, led by a steal and dunk from Hall. Taden Metzger threw in a 3, and Nathan Baker’s layin gave Fishers a 30-14 lead.
Five points from Evan Harrell cut the Tigers’ advantage to 30-19 by halftime, and Couto hit a jumper to open the second half. Fishers stayed in front, with Kirby scoring four points in the last minute of the quarter to keep the Tigers ahead 40-27.
Carmel made a 6-0 run during the early part of the fourth quarter to get within 43-35; Aidan Dickerson, Evan Harrell and Couto all made baskets. Hall ended the run with a layin, and Fishers kept its lead around 10 points for the game’s final two minutes.
All nine Tigers players scored, led by Hall’s 10 points. Metzger and McCartney both had eight points. Garner finished with four points, but was effective passing the ball with six assists.
“He did a really great job on making extra passes to open guys for shots,” said Hall.
“That’s his lowest-scoring game of his career and I think he dominated the game. I really do,” said Winegar. “The way he passed, he made the right read every time.”
Couto scored 13 points for Carmel, with Harrell adding 11 points and five rebounds. Clevenger made four steals for the Greyhounds, who finished 12-11 but 8-2 for their last 10 games.
“I think the response from our team is indicative of the season,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “They didn’t back down, they didn’t stop fighting. They didn’t stop believing. And I give all the credit to our seniors. Our seniors all season were incredible in how they responded to challenges.”
Fishers is 23-1 and will play the Royals in the second Friday semifinal, which will start around 7:30 p.m.
FISHERS 54, CARMEL 41
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Alex Couto 5-17 2-4 13 0
Ryan Clevenger 2-7 1-2 5 5
Aidan Dickerson 1-2 2-2 4 2
Ben Bremer 1-5 1-3 4 3
Evan Harrell 5-5 1-1 11 3
Quinn Murphy 0-0 0-0 0 2
Mitchell Mulloy 1-2 0-0 2 0
Max Winders 1-2 0-0 2 2
Jamie Whack 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 16-40 7-12 41 17
Carmel 3-point shooting (2-13) Couto 1-9, Bremer 1-4.
Carmel rebounds (20) Harrell 5, Dickerson 4, Couto 3, Mulloy 3, Winders 2, Clevenger 1, Murphy 1, Bremer 1.
Fishers FG FT TP PF
Taden Metzger 2-5 2-2 8 0
Millen McCartney 3-4 0-0 8 1
Cooper Zachary 1-5 4-7 7 3
JonAnthony Hall 5-5 0-2 10 5
Keenan Garner 2-2 0-0 4 5
Jason Gardner Jr. 0-0 2-5 2 1
Justin Kirby 2-3 2-3 7 0
Parker Perdue 0-0 2-2 2 2
Nathan Baker 2-2 2-2 6 0
Totals 17-26 14-23 54 17
Fishers 3-point shooting (6-13) Metzger 2-4, McCartney 2-3, Zachary 1-4, Kirby 1-2.
Fishers rebounds (16) Metzger 3, Zachary 3, Garner 3, Kirby 2, Hall 2, Baker 2, Gardner Jr. 1.
Score by Quarters
Carmel 7 12 8 14 – 41
Fishers 21 9 10 14 – 54