It was #1 vs. #2 on Friday night as North Central faced Carmel. The two teams have played a number of classic games in the last handful of years. Prior to the match-up, many expected to add another game to that group.

Carmel jumped out 12-0 to start the game. Carmel used a lot of back cuts to get good looks. North Central bounced back with a 12-2 run. It was a balanced effort by the Panthers to come back. Carmel did a good job of doubling Wilkes early in the game.

2017 guard Sterling Brown did most of the scoring in the first half for Carmel. He had 16 of the Greyhounds' 32 points. North Central made him work to get open as the Panthers had a defender hound him the length of the court.

Speaking of the North Central defense, Doug Mitchell's squad pressured Carmel full court throughout the game. That led to nine first half turnovers by Carmel including five by Brown. Most Scott Heady teams don't turn the ball over nine times in a game.

North Central turned up the defense to a different level in the second half. Carmel was only able to score 13 points in the second half. Emmanuel Little and Kris Wilkes didn't allow Carmel to get any easy baskets around the rim. They either blocked or intimidated every shot.

Little did it on the offensive end as well. He hit a couple three-pointers early in the second half to get the North Central offense rolling. His spurt of points helped get North on the right track. After Little got it going, DJ Johnson joined in with five straight points of his own. Johnson has been an offensive threat that was unexpected coming into the season.

The Panthers didn't look back from there. They cruised to a 59-45 victory. Little finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. UCLA-bound Kris Wilkes finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Sterling Brown led Carmel with 22 points.