(LEFT) Carmel’s Evan Harrell made three dunks during the Greyhounds’ win over Noblesville on Friday, Dec. 12. Harrell scored 15 points. (CENTER) Noblesville’s Justin Curry II scored 20 points for the Millers. Pictured at right is Carmel’s Ben Bremer. (RIGHT) Noblesville’s Max Flanagan takes a shot while being defended by Carmel’s Cash Daniels. (Collin Oestreich)
Greyhounds’ last win against Millers was two-game season sweep in 2022
By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
CARMEL – The Carmel Greyhounds are looking to change the narrative this season.
On Friday, Dec. 12 inside the Eric Clark Athletic Center, the Class 4A seventh-ranked Hounds (3-0) made their first statement and scored a little revenge in the process.
Locked in three ties early against Noblesville, Carmel took control behind a 19-5 run in the second quarter to defeat the 4A Millers, 64-52.
The Greyhounds finished with a 10-13 record last year and lost to the Millers (1-4) during the 2024-25 Sectional 8 tournament, 51-32, but with a healthy 6-foot-8 senior Evan Harrell this time around, Carmel halted its four-game losing streak against one of its primary rivals.
“I’ve never beaten Noblesville. This is the first time in my basketball career, so this is big time,” Harrell said. “They’ve beaten us those last three years, so we kind of had a chip on our shoulder to come in and beat them.”
Carmel had four players reach double figures on Friday, shot 59 percent from the field and logged 17 assists as a team with Harrell setting the pace.
The Bellarmine University commit had a team-high 15 points, including a trio of dunks, and added a team-best six assists, 11 rebounds and eight deflections.
“He’s turning into a leader and a leader by example. He’s doing a lot of good things that makes his team better,” Carmel coach Ryan Osborn said. “He’s been great, and we’re going to need him to be great.”
Harrell was limited last year due to an ankle injury. Against Noblesville, he had eight points in the first half, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk assisted by senior Julian Vogt off a Millers’ turnover in the final seconds to end the second quarter ahead, 32-20.
“I was very impressed with the way we shared the ball. We had 17 assists on 25 field goals. It’s a credit to them. We challenged them this week,” Osborn said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, dive in and lift people up and play team basketball. That shows when you’re able to share the ball like we did tonight.”
A bucket by Vogt, who had seven points and three assists, tied the game 15-15 to open the second quarter.
One of senior Ben Bremer’s two 3-pointers broke the final deadlock, as Carmel capitalized on Noblesville’s five second-quarter turnovers and eight overall.
“We’ve had a quarter every game that’s not been well. Usually, it seems like the third, but tonight was the second,” Noblesville coach Scott McClelland said. “I mean, it started from the get-go. They were tougher. They were more physical.”
The Greyhounds’ ball movement fed their efficiency. Junior Cash Daniels provided 14 points, four assists and five rebounds. Junior Aiden Dickerson had 12 points and four rebounds.
Bremer dished out three assists, hauled in three rebounds and scored 12 points.
An assist from Harrell to Bremer for a 3-pointer late in the third quarter gave Carmel its largest lead at 17 points, 45-28.
“I give Carmel a lot of credit. They’re playing hungry. They went through a tough season last year,” McClelland said. “You can tell those guys have been sitting around having to think about that for the last nine months. They just diced us up. We haven’t been beaten like that in a long time.”
The Millers shot 43 percent overall, were 8 of 23 from 3-point range and lost the rebound battle 20-18.
Seniors Justin Curry II and Baron Walker finished with 20 and 18 points, respectively. Curry had six rebounds, while Walker had four assists and five boards.
Noblesville has now lost four consecutive games against state-ranked opponents to open the season, including 4A No. 5 Plainfield, 60-53; 4A No. 1 Fishers, 56-40; and 4A No. 3 Lawrence North, 58-51.
“They’re an incredible team. They’ve got two Indiana All-Stars, and they’ve had a tough schedule, so they’re going to figure it out, and they’re going to be great in March,” Osborn said. “We’ve got, I think, a good group of guys that we’re going to need all year long. They believe in each other. They’re growing together. But wins in December, they don’t win you anything in March.”
