Saturday, December 12, 2009

North Central @ Carmel Game Report

No, I am not a Carmel fan. They have just played two teams I have wanted to see play so far. I will see more teams than just Carmel.

Game Report

Carmel stormed out and control the first few minutes. There were a ton of foul calls especially in the first half. It really hurt the rhythm of the game. North Central benefited from Carmel turnovers through full-court pressure applied by North Central. After one quarter, the score was tied at 17.

The second quarter was dominated by Carmel. They scored 31 points in the quarter. Eleven of those points were scored by junior Josh Baldridge who connected on 3 of 4 from 3-point range. Carmel was up 48-36 at the half.

After halftime, North Central had the same type of quarter that Carmel had in the second. Ronnie and Terone Johnson really picked up the scoring for North Central. They both hit multiple 3's in the quarter. North Central fought back to have the game tied at 63 heading into the final quarter.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera
battled foul trouble all night and wasn't very aggressive when he was in the game. They may have been because of the foul trouble or the fact that he was unable to get into a rhythm from all the fouls being called. He ended up with just 10 points on the night.

The final quarter was back and forth. Terone Johnson hit some big shots in the quarter. No shot was bigger than Baldridge's 3-pointer with under a minute to go that put Carmel up 3 points. Trip McFall had a 3-point attempt go half way down and come out that would have tied the game up. Carmel ended up winning 83-79.

Terone Johnson, 6'4 SG commit to Purdue, ended up with an unofficial 30 points by my count. He was 5-9 from 3-point range and 5-8 from 2-point range. He didn't look as explosive as he did over the summer. He had his calf taped and that might have had something to do with it.

Darius Latham, 6'4 PF freshmen, started and had a solid game inside for North Central. He is not built like a freshmen just like DSR wasn't last year. He also had a big 3-point play the old fashioned way when he took contact from A.J. Hammons and finished over him.

Robert Kitzinger, 6'6 SF senior, shot very well this game. I had him 4-5 from 3 and 2 for 2 from 2-point. He is good at catch and shooting. His height allows him to get his shot off over people. I haven't seen him come off a screen and bury a shot or a 2-dribble pull-up over someone.

Ben Gardner
, 5'11 PG sophomore, is very good with the ball. He is quick and can finish at the rim. He is pass first and get to the rim second. He doesn't look for his outside shot too much. I like what I have seen from him in the two games I have seen.

AJ Hammons, 6'10 C sophomore, doesn't get enough touches and he gets pushed out away from the basket by smaller guys. He has great footwork and great touch when he catches the ball on the lane line. He also is very good at passing out of double teams which is why I would like to see Carmel get him a touch every possession because he makes good things happen for them.

Alex Payne, 6'0 PG senior, just gets the job done. It is ugly and the defense knows he is going to the basket, but he still finds a way to score or to find the open guy. I had him down for 17 points. He uses the glass well when he gets to the rim.

Ronnie Johnson
, 5'10 PG sophomore, is Terone's younger brother. Ronnie is a quick point guard that can shoot from the outside. I would have liked to see him attack the basket more against Carmel. He ended up fouling out of the game with 8 points. He had 27 earlier this year against Pike.