In an early season MIC match-up, Carmel used the hot shooting of Andrew Owens to hold off Lawrence Central, 61-55.

Both offenses struggled to convert shots early in the game. Carmel’s Karsten Windlan found a rhythm late in the opening quarter to give Carmel a boost. The senior guard scored five of Carmel’s eight points in the period.

Scoring picked up slightly in the second period as Andrew Owens found space for a few three-pointers. Owens picked up the offensive slack for Carmel with John Michael Mulloy limited to five minutes in the first half after committing his second four. Owens scored 11 in the half.

After Carmel opened a double-digit lead in the third quarter, there was nearly a knockout blow when Nijel Pack fouled Mulloy while he was attempting a full court shot at the end of the period. Luckily for Lawrence Central, he missed all three free throws.

Down 11 with a period to go, D’Andre Davis got on track. He scored the first eight points of the final quarter to pull the Bears while three. He had only scored seven points in the first three quarters prior to his outburst.

Carmel’s lead was down to one point with four minutes remaining when Andrew Owens popped loose for another three-pointer. It was his sixth three-pointer of the game and none were bigger than his last. Despite that, Nijel Pack answered back moments later with a three of his own to bring LC back within one point. From there, Carmel scored the next eight points including four from Luke Heady. He was big down the stretch for Carmel as he took care of the ball, hit free throws, and scored at the basket when needed.

Carmel didn’t give LC much room for error in its comeback effort because the Greyhounds went 13-15 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Carmel also finished 9-16 from three-point range compared to Lawrence Central’s 7-22. With Carmel converting at the line, Lawrence Central couldn’t string enough baskets together to tie or take the lead.

Carmel moved to 2-0 with the 61-55 victory behind 20 points from Andrew Owens. He was 6-8 from three. Karsten Windlan added 13 points, while Luke Heady finished with 10. John Michael Mulloy ended with eight points and five rebounds in 20 minutes.

Lawrence Central dropped to 1-1 on the season. D’Andre Davis led LC with 15 points. The Nebraska commitment added six rebounds. Nijel Pack scored 14, while Jacob LaRavia and Wesley Jordan each scored 12.