By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Carmel hosted Hamilton Southeastern Friday night in an all-county boys basketball game, and the Greyhounds won the hard-fought contest, 48-37.
The Royals took a lead in the first quarter before Carmel went on a long run that lasted well into the second period. The No. 8-ranked Greyhounds were able to keep their lead between six and 12 points once they got ahead, and the end result was a second straight victory.
“We did enough to win,” said Carmel coach Ryan Osborn. “At this time of year, I’ll take a win. I want to see our best every night. Unfortunately, we’re not going to get our best every night right now. I think we’ll get there, though.”
The first five minutes of the game featured some back-and-forth between the two teams. Carmel led 8-6 before Southeastern went on a 6-0 run for a 12-8 lead. Braeden Totten made a pair of baskets, sandwiched between a Reph Stevenson layin.
The Greyhounds took over after that, with a 16-0 stretch. The first seven points were in the first quarter: Jared Bonds made a layin, Sam Orme scored off a putback, then Logan Rinehart’s 3 finished the period and gave Carmel a 15-12 advantage.
Alex Couto began the second quarter with two free throws, then Orme made a pair of foul shots, followed by a dunk. Spencer White’s 3 finished the run, and Carmel led 24-12.
“The seniors have been great for us down the stretch,” said Osborn. “I’m proud of them and I’m hanging my hat on them and they’re leading us. They’re doing a great job.”
That 12-point lead would be the biggest of the game, and the Greyhounds achieved that margin a couple more times during the quarter. Southeastern’s Donovan Hamilton got the first basket of the period for the Royals at the 4:15 mark, which Orme answered with a jumper. Stevenson made a layin, then Ryan Clevenger hit a floater for a 28-16 lead.
Carmel led 32-21 at halftime. The third quarter was more defensive, with Southeastern outscoring the ‘Hounds 9-6 in that period. Hamilton scored five points, while Stevenson’s layin to finish the period got HSE within 38-30.
Another basket by Hamilton late in the fourth quarter got the Royals within 41-35. But Jared Bonds came through for Carmel with a three-point play, then White and Clevenger both made two free throws in the final minute.
“Jared has been great,” said Osborn. He credited Bonds’ energy, his rebounding, and “just making basketball plays that, sometimes they don’t show up on the stat sheet. Just being a presence out there offensive and defensively.”
Orme finished the game with a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds. White scored 13 points and collected eight rebounds; both he and Orme were 6 of 6 from the line. White also blocked two shots.
Hamilton finished with 12 points for the Royals.
“I actually thought we played pretty well,” said Southeastern coach John Ashworth. “It just boiled down to really four or five little things. Free throws, they were 18 of 19 from the free-throw line.”
Ashworth also pointed out that Carmel outrebounded his team by 13; the ‘Hounds had 28 rebounds to the Royals’ 15.
“We just go to find ways to make plays down the stretch,” said Ashworth. “Our kids are giving unbelievable effort. They play hard. They really are coachable, but we just got to find ways to do the little things.”
The Greyhounds are 13-6 and play an afternoon game today at Fort Wayne Carroll. Southeastern is 5-16 and hosts Southport tonight.
CARMEL 48, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 37
Southeastern FG FT TP PF
Donovan Hamilton 5-10 2-3 12 2
Reph Stevenson 3-7 2-2 8 2
Myles Holman 1-5 1-2 3 2
Braeden Totten 4-10 0-0 9 1
Eli Robinson 0-2 0-0 0 3
Michael Griffith 2-3 1-1 5 2
Deion Miles 0-0 0-0 0 1
Joe Karwowski 0-0 0-0 0 2
Totals 15-37 6-8 37 15
Southeastern 3-point shooting (1-10) Totten 1-5, Hamilton 0-2, Robinson 0-2, Holman 0-1.
Southeastern rebounds (15) Hamilton 3, Holman 3, Griffith 3, Stevenson 2, Totten 1, Karwowski 1, Robinson 1, team 1
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Alex Couto 0-4 2-2 2 1
Ryan Clevenger 1-3 2-2 4 0
Spencer White 3-7 6-6 13 2
Sam Orme 6-11 6-6 18 1
Jared Bonds 3-6 2-3 8 2
Logan Reinhart 1-1 0-0 3 0
Jake Griffin 0-2 0-0 0 1
Owen Huber 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 14-34 18-19 48 7
Carmel 3-point shooting (2-9) White 1-2, Reinhart 1-1, Couto 0-3, Griffin 0-2, Orme 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (28) Orme 10, White 8, Bonds 4, Clevenger 2, Couto 1, Reinhart 1, team 2.
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 12 9 9 7 – 37
Carmel 15 17 6 10 – 48