By RICHIE HALL

Hamilton County Reporter Sports Editor

The Carmel boys basketball team won its third consecutive sectional Saturday, beating Hamilton Southeastern 69-57 at the Eric Clark Activity Center.

This was a reversal from the two teams’ earlier season game, where the Royals won 72-51. On Saturday, the Greyhounds rolled through the second quarter to take control of the contest, and maintained that advantage in the second half

“Defensively, we were so much better tonight than the first time we played them,” said Carmel coach Scott Heady. “We rebounded a lot better. We controlled the boards all night. And we didn’t turn the ball over. We went in at halftime with two turnovers, and I think that was the key that got us the lead.”

Next up for Carmel is a trip to the Logansport regional, where it will have a noon re-match next Saturday with McCutcheon. The Mavericks beat the Greyhounds in overtime last year at the Berry Bowl, and then made their way to the Class 4A state championship game.

The ‘Hounds were ahead 15-9 at the end of the first period, and beginning a 15-2 run that would take them up to a 29-11 lead late in the second quarter. Senior PJ Baron continued his great play in the first half, scoring 11 points.

“As a senior, it feels great, especially on the home court,” said Baron

Carmel led 17-11 before scoring 12 unanswered points, the majority of its big first-half run. Baron hit a 3-pointer, a putback and a layin, and Eddie Gill finished things up with a 3-pointer of his own.

Southeastern got five quick points off a basket by Connor Rotterman, then Zach Gunn converted a 3-point play. But the half ended with Cole Jenkins tossing in a ‘3’ for Carmel, and the Greyhounds were up 32-16 at the break.

Carmel continued to roll in the third period, ending it with six unanswered points, layins by Britt Beery, Jalen Whack and John Michael Mulloy. That gave the Greyhounds their largest lead of the game at 43-24. The Royals would chip away at the lead in the fourth period, getting to within 59-49 with 1:48 left. But Carmel’s foul shooting allowed it to seal the game.

“We hit some key shots to get us the lead, and we were just able to contain, or to keep the lead and hit free throws down the stretch,” said Heady.

Baron finished the game with 17 points, and pulled nine rebounds as well.

“I think I played pretty well, but I got to stay humble and just keep moving forward into the tournament,” said Baron.

Luke Heady scored 14 points, while Cole Jenkins added 12. Whack and Mulloy both had five rebounds.

“I give our guys a lot of credit,” said Heady. “You look at our lineup tonight, three of our five starters were just strictly JV players last year and the other two guys came off the bench. They were like our seventh and eighth man.

“I know it’s the end of the year and they’re seasoned throughout the year, but thinking about where those guys started the beginning of the year and where they are now is, I think a real tribute to our team and that they got a lot better throughout the year.”

Jack Davidson led HSE with 21 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter. Rotterman scored 10 points, as did Gunn, a four-year star who graduates as the Royals’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder. Aaron Etherington pulled six rebounds, while Gunn had four.