Hamilton County and sectional rivals Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern squared off for the first time since last year's sectional, won by Carmel. This time, the Royals left no doubt as they used hot shooting from deep and an effective transition game to dominate Carmel.

A foreshadowing of things to come came on HSE's first offensive possession when Noah Smith drove the lane and tossed up a lob that Zach Gunn slammed home with two hands. But foul trouble would stall any momentum that the Royals tried to build, as the first six whistles all went in favor of Carmel. Sophomore sensation Aaron Etherington picked up two fouls in the first 75 seconds, relegating him to the bench. Each team's stars came ready to play, as Sterling Brown and Zach Gunn each scored seven points in the first quarter.

The visitors would begin to blow the game open in the second period. Carmel elected to double Zach Gunn when he caught the ball in the post, but the senior forward has undoubtedly seen that before, and he made the correct play by passing out of the double team. "We preached about making the extra pass, making them defend. We had to keep being patient and keep moving the basketball," said HSE coach abroad Satterfield. He was rewarded with a pair of assists when Austin Holzum and Aaron Shank caught his passes and knocked down three pointers. That wasn't the only damage done from beyond the arc for the Royals, as recent Wabash commit Connor Rotterman hit two triples as well in the period. Rotterman had 10 in the quarter, as HSE would go into the locker room with a 13 point advantage.

The Royals would continue their dominance in the third quarter, this time doing their damage a little closer to the rim. A pair of threes from forwards Aaron Etherington and Zach Gunn opened the quarter for HSE as their lead grew to 19. Brian Satterfield's squad then turned their attention to the defensive end. They forced Carmel into missed shots and immediately turned them into points. "When we can get stops, we can use our depth and wear teams down. We can use our athleticism and get some easy baskets before they get their defense set," said Satterfield. A fantastic transition sequence that started with Zach Gunn and ended with a Connor Rotterman layup involved four Royals without the ball ever touching the floor. Later in the period, Rotterman would reward Gunn for sprinting the floor when he dropped off a pass to him in the lane and Gunn would finish with a big two handed dunk. The lead would extend to over 20 by the end of the third in front of a stunned Carmel crowd.

The fourth quarter saw Carmel force a few turnovers and close the game to 16 points, but the Greyhounds could not get any closer as Jack Davidson closed out the game from the line.

HSE 11 22 20 19 - 72
Carmel 9 11 12 19 - 51

HSE: Zach Gunn 27 points (10/17 FGs, 2/4 3Ps, 5/5 FTs), 8 rebs; Connor Rotterman 16 points; Jack Davidson 8 points (8/8 FTs), 4 asts; Aaron Etherington 5 points (2/4 FGs); Austin Holzum 5 points; Chaz Birchfield 4 points; Aaron Shank 3 points; Nick Bowman 2 points; Zach Mutchner 2 points; Noah Smith 4 asts

Carmel: Sterling Brown 20 points (6/17 FGs, 3/9 3Ps, 5/6 FTs), 3 asts, 4 stls; PJ Baron 10 points (4/7 FGs), 5 rebs, 2 blks; John Michael Mulloy 7 points (3/5 FGs), 3 blks; Luke Heady 6 points; Alex Falender 6 points; Eddie Gill 2 points