A Tale of Two Halves: #3 Carmel Knocks off #2 Pike
By CRAIG DRAGASH
ISL Correspondent
This was a game of opposites. An up-tempo, dribble-penetration offense displayed by Pike, against a motion-based, take-advantage-of-what-the-defense-gives-you style employed by Carmel. There were two completely different halves of basketball played in this game, one dominated by Pike, and the other by Carmel. And for Pike, a hope for the opposite of that happened in last season’s State Finals game, which was won by Carmel.
In the end, it was more of the same in Carmel’s 69-58 victory.
Pike came out strong in the first half, building a lead that reached 13 points at one time in the second quarter. Pike’s quick, athletic perimeter players were getting to the rim at will with little resistance from the Greyhounds. With the exception of two three-point baskets that were made, all of Pike’s points in the first half came either in the paint, or at the free throw line. Carmel didn’t have an answer for Taishaun Johnson, who had 13 in the half as the Red Devils led 35-26 at halftime.
Carmel came out in the 3rd quarter and gradually chipped away at the Pike lead. Pike called a timeout with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter after Carmel cut the lead to five at 41-36. But the timeout didn’t cut into the momentum of the Greyhounds; after the timeout they closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to take their first lead since they led 2-0, at 44-43.
From there, it was the Greyhounds getting to the basket, and Pike settling for jump shots; many of them contested. Carmel outscored Pike 25-15 in the final quarter.
Carmel’s leading scorer, Michael Volovic, was held to nine points in this one; most of those coming from the free-throw line down the stretch as he sank 7 of 8. James Crowley was the one the Greyhounds leaned on in this one, scoring 24 points as he was very aggressive in taking the ball into the paint and converting. For the second game in a row, James Volovic made a big contribution as well, scoring 14 and grabbing 5 rebounds. Zach McRoberts made some key plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor, finishing with 12 points to go along with eight rebounds and four steals.
For Pike, Zavier Turner scored 21 points to lead the Red Devils along with three assists and three steals. Johnson finished with 15 while Jordan Pickett and Anthony Patterson added 10 points each.
After winning their first 12 games, Pike dropped its second game in a row. The Red Devils dropped a one-point decision to Park Tudor in the Marion County Championship. Carmel improves to 11-1 after defeating Cathedral, Kokomo, and Pike, all within the span of one week.
Pike will travel to winless Southport on Saturday, while Carmel hosts conference foe Terre Haute South (8-8) on Friday.
Follow Craig Dragash on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Greyhound32.
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