Carroll has had a tough schedule of late. Last week, the Chargers traveled to Carmel then faced Homestead on Friday night. To make things more difficult, Carroll lost on a last second shot to Homestead. It was a quick turnaround and the 18-2 North Central Panthers were waiting for them.

2017 guard Jacob Redding has been a consistent performer for Carroll all season and he started the Chargers off in the right way. He hit his first shot of the game and continued to provide much of the offense for Carroll. Early in the game, Redding was matched in production by Ball State signee Kyle Mallers. He connected for eight points in the opening period. Mallers also did a good job of rebounding against the size and athleticism of North Central.

North Central's start to the game wasn't as strong. It took junior TJ Waldon coming off the bench and scoring seven points to get North Central's offense rolling. His shooting was able to get North Central mentally back in the game late in the first quarter.

2017 forward Kris Wilkes was steady throughout the first half for North Central. He scored 10 points in the opening half of action. Emmanuel Little also helped patrol the paint for North Central. He has developed into a solid shot blocker at the high school level. Little tallied nine points and four rebounds in the first half.

North Central held a slim 34-33 lead at intermission.

There wasn't a ton of rhythm to the first half, but whatever little amount there was, it left in the third quarter. Both teams struggled to get consistent looks during the period. It led to a low scoring quarter.

The fourth quarter was also played at a grinding pace. It was North Central that made enough plays to jump ahead after the game was tied heading into the final period. Mateo Rivera and Emmanuel Little provided enough offense for North Central to escape with the 61-53 victory. The two combined for 15 of North Central's 18 points in the fourth with Rivera having nine.

Emmanuel Little finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. Mateo Rivera added 16 points while Kris Wilkes had 12 points and six rebounds.

In the loss, Jacob Redding had 17 points while Kyle Mallers had 14 points and seven rebounds. Arius Jones also had eight points and four assists for Carroll.