Sectional 8 is always good for producing memorable games, and Friday night was no different as Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern were both able to wrestle away victories. 

 

The opener saw a Fishers team riding high off their upset win over #7 North Central on Tuesday come into the Eric Clark Activity Center to face Carmel, which had drawn the bye and was playing their first game of the sectional.

 

The host Greyhounds are known for their prolific three point shooting, especially Ryan Cline and Keegan Culp, but it was the visitors who started off hot, hitting their first three attempts from behind the arc. Lance Dollison, Keegan Kollmeyer, and Lukas Wehner were responsible for the makes, and served notice that Fishers had no intentions of being a one game wonder.

 

The game would start auspiciously for Ryan Cline, as he missed a pair of free throws, and would set an early tone of struggles from the field for the Purdue signee. He was able to respond by making a three pointer and a set of free throws. Preston Flamion was able to work his way into the middle of the Fishers defense for a pair of buckets, but Fishers held a four point advantage after a quarter.

 

The gameplan for Fishers was to be aware anytime a screen was being set for Cline, and committing defenders to that action. It worked beautifully, as every time Cline received a pass there was one and sometimes two defenders right in his face. Carmel would get quality looks around the basket, but could not finish. "We just couldn't get a basket to fall, we had great looks all night, but our guys didn't hang their head. We continued to defend and rebound, and we didn't turn it over. Our defense kept us in the game," remarked Carmel coach Scott Heady.

 

Lance Dollison would hit his second three pointer of the half to stretch the Fishers lead to 16-9, but Carmel would respond with a 6-2 run to close the half with a Ryan Cline layup and four points from Air Force pledge Keegan Culp.

 

Carmel would comes out of the gates firing in the third quarter, starting on an 8-0 run with Ryan Cline finding Trent Richardson at the rim and ending with a Cline three from the top of the key, which forced Fishers coach Joe Leonard to burn a timeout. The Tigers were able to counter the Carmel run with one of their own, as junior post Cam Wolter scored twice on the block and the defense forced misses from Cline and Culp.

 

What was a slow tempo began to pick up in the fourth, as Keegan Kollmeyer found Wolter on a pick and roll for a layup, but Cline would respond with a driving hoop. Fishers then inexplicably lost Cline on an inbounds play, as Cline, the inbounded, wandering all alone to the corner and buried his first truly clean look of the night to give Carmel a 32-29 lead. "It wasn't just me," Cline said afterwards. "It was my teammates getting me involved, getting me the ball at the right times."

 

Fishers would respond yet again with a 7-2 run. Carmel would have a clean look from three for Keegan Culp to take the lead, but it would bounce off the rim to Ryan Cline, who lost the ball to Andre Small, who was subsequently fouled. He would split the pair of free throws, setting up a final chance for Carmel with 20 seconds left.

 

Ryan Cline would drive to his right and miss an off balance runner, but the ball bounced straight back to him, and he was fouled on his put back attempt with 8.5 seconds remaining. Cline to this point in the game was just 3/7 from the foul line, including missing the front end of a one and one early in the fourth quarter. He made the first free throw, and after a Fishers timeout, would calmly make the second to tie the game. Keegan Kollmeyer had a ten foot baseline look, but it would bounce harmlessly off the iron to signal overtime.

 

A shootout ensued on the first few possessions of overtime as Lukas Wehner would open with a three for Fishers, then Ryan Cline would bury one from deep on the right wing. The next Fishers trip down saw Lance Dollison find Cam Wolter out of a ball screen for a three point play, but Cline would again respond with a deep three. "Ryan just stayed with it, and made plays down the stretch." Heady continued, "He showed a lot of toughness tonight."

 

A Lance Dollison free throw would give Fishers a one point advantage with just over a minute remaining. After not being able to find Cline in the offense, Ethan Merriweather would drive and get fouled, but would miss both free throws and Lukas Wehner would rebound the second. He was fouled and would sink both of his free throws to give Fishers a three point advantage. Ryan Cline would will his way to the stripe and sink a pair.

 

Needing a turnover, Cline would force a five second call on Kollmeyer with just under 30 seconds remaining. "We need to get a turnover there, and I just got up and played the best defense I could," said Cline. Carmel would call timeout, and Fishers was intent on not letting Cline beat them, as they would run a second defender at Cline to take the ball out of his hands. He would get it back and drive, and he was able to find Trent Richardson at the rim while falling to the floor, and Richardson would be fouled with 2.8 remaining.  Richardson would miss the first, but after a quick pep talk from Cline, would nail the second to send the game to a second overtime. "I told him 'You're the best free throw shooter in here, man. I know you're going to make this next one,'"said Cline.

 

Richardson would continue his spectacular stretch, getting fouled and making both from the line then finishing a nifty reverse layin to give Carmel a four point advantage. "Trent did a great job defensively tonight," said Heady. "He had a good game all around." It would be academic from that point forward, as Carmel would seal the game from the line. Fishers would not score in the second overtime until a deep Lukas Wehner three with under 20 seconds remaining, and Carmel would pull away to win 56-48.

 

Fishers  13   5    7  11   9    3  -  48

Carmel    9   6  11  10   9  11  -  56

 

Fishers: Cameron Wolter 13 pts (5/10 FGs, 3/3 FTs), 3 rbs, 2 blk; Lukas Wehner 13 pts (3/3 3Ps); Keegan Kollmeyer 9 pts (3/10 FGs), 4 rbs, 4 ast; Lance Dollison 8 pts (2/12 FGs); Andre Small 3 pts; Shawn Taylor 2 pts

 

Carmel: Ryan Cline 30 pts (8/20 FGs, 5/13 3Ps, 9/13 FTs), 7 rbs; Trent Richardson 8 pts; Preston Flamion 7 pts (3/9 FGs); Keegan Culp 6 pts (1/5 FGs); Sterling Brown 3 pts; Ethan Merriweather 2 pts, 3 ast