No. 1 Carmel Christian loses big lead, gets it back in semifinal win over Providence Day.
BY CAMERON WILLIAMS UPDATED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 12:37 AM
MATTHEWS Carmel Christian, No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, appeared to have Providence Day figured out early in the teams’ NC Independent Schools state semifinal. Until the Cougars didn’t.
Carmel ran out to big first half leads in Tuesday’s 72-55 win, only to watch Providence Day come all the way back -- before the Cougars found their footing to advance. Carmel Christian (28-3) will play Christ School (30-4) in Saturday’s state championship game at Forsyth Country Day.
Carmel Christian will be trying to win for the second straight year. Christ School will be looking for its first state title in 12 years.
“We obviously wanted to get to this point,” Carmel Christian coach Joe Badgett said after the win.
“Now we just had to prepare and get ready for a great Christ School team (that) is very talented. We just have to get ready for that one on Saturday.”
The Cougars came out strong in the first half, shutting down Providence Day offensively and running off to an 18-point lead. Senior guard Khamani Wertz was shooting the ball at a high clip from range – and in contrast to his prior outing against Charlotte Latin – he looked locked in.
“The thing with Khamani is just getting him to understand how well he can shoot,” Badgett said. “I think that has been the challenge since he has been here because he was just so hesitant to take shots. I’m like, ‘Man the way you shoot the ball, you can’t pass up open shots.’ He is going to make more than he misses most of the time because his shot is just so pure.”
For Wertz -- who hit a huge 3 to end Providence Day’s biggest run in the third quarter -- he has taken what coach Badgett said to heart. “Coach just talks a lot about the rotations and I think Jaeden (Mustaf) and Bryce (Cash) did a really great job of finding me,” Wertz said. “They found me open and I was able to make some shots tonight.”
The Cougars did get that scare though. Providence Day went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter before Wertz hit a 3 pointer to end it. They would draw level with the Cougars heading into the fourth quarter at 42 all.
“This is a game of basketball where you find out how tough your team is when it’s adversity time,” Badgett said. “We sucked it up and the kids locked back in defensively. Jaeden (Mustaf) and Bryce (Cash) did a great job.”
This is how great: Carmel won the fourth quarter 30-13, dominating all facets of the game in the final period of play. Afterwards, Cash was honored for scoring 1,500 points in his high school career, which included three years at Charlotte Christian before this one.
“It’s been a long journey,” Cash said. “Since freshman year till now, I have just been blessed to be able to play here at Carmel and it has just been fun man.”
Cash knows the job isn’t finished though and they have a tough game ahead against Christ School.
“Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are going to scout and do our practices,” Cash said. “We will be prepared.”
Wertz echoed Cash’s remarks. While he is excited about the win, he knows there is still one more game for the Cougars to acheive the goal they set out for before the season began.
“I’m excited for sure,” Wertz said. “But, you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low because we have one more – and that is our goal.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Riley Allenspach, Providence Day: The 6-foot-10 Western Kentucky commit put his team on his back in the third quarter during his team’s comeback. He finished the game with 19 points as well as a handful of blocks. He had what was the highlight of the game to close the first half as he drained a half court buzzer beater to close the half. Find more sports news, plus coverage from Sports Illustrated.
Khamani Wertz, Carmel Christian: Wertz got it going from deep early, and kept it going. Despite getting in a little foul trouble towards the end of the game, Wertz finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists on a highly efficient shooting night.
Jaeden Mustaf, Carmel Christian: He is a 4-star prospect for a reason. When his team needed him the most, he rose to the occasion hitting huge shots in the fourth quarter stretching the Cougar lead back out.
CARMEL CHRISTIAN72 -- Freeman 3, Khamani Wertz 16, Jaeden Mustaf 18, Bryce Cash 11, Siler 4, Smith 2, Burnham 9, Marcus Jr 9
PROVIDENCE DAY 55 -- Riley Allenspach 19, Trajan Thompson 15, Hailey 9, Youakim 2, Winston 2, Appling 6, Dyer 2
CARMEL 28-3 PDS
BY CAMERON WILLIAMS UPDATED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 12:37 AM
MATTHEWS Carmel Christian, No. 1 in The Charlotte Observer Sweet 16 poll, appeared to have Providence Day figured out early in the teams’ NC Independent Schools state semifinal. Until the Cougars didn’t.
Carmel ran out to big first half leads in Tuesday’s 72-55 win, only to watch Providence Day come all the way back -- before the Cougars found their footing to advance. Carmel Christian (28-3) will play Christ School (30-4) in Saturday’s state championship game at Forsyth Country Day.
Carmel Christian will be trying to win for the second straight year. Christ School will be looking for its first state title in 12 years.
“We obviously wanted to get to this point,” Carmel Christian coach Joe Badgett said after the win.
“Now we just had to prepare and get ready for a great Christ School team (that) is very talented. We just have to get ready for that one on Saturday.”
The Cougars came out strong in the first half, shutting down Providence Day offensively and running off to an 18-point lead. Senior guard Khamani Wertz was shooting the ball at a high clip from range – and in contrast to his prior outing against Charlotte Latin – he looked locked in.
“The thing with Khamani is just getting him to understand how well he can shoot,” Badgett said. “I think that has been the challenge since he has been here because he was just so hesitant to take shots. I’m like, ‘Man the way you shoot the ball, you can’t pass up open shots.’ He is going to make more than he misses most of the time because his shot is just so pure.”
For Wertz -- who hit a huge 3 to end Providence Day’s biggest run in the third quarter -- he has taken what coach Badgett said to heart. “Coach just talks a lot about the rotations and I think Jaeden (Mustaf) and Bryce (Cash) did a really great job of finding me,” Wertz said. “They found me open and I was able to make some shots tonight.”
The Cougars did get that scare though. Providence Day went on a 13-0 run in the third quarter before Wertz hit a 3 pointer to end it. They would draw level with the Cougars heading into the fourth quarter at 42 all.
“This is a game of basketball where you find out how tough your team is when it’s adversity time,” Badgett said. “We sucked it up and the kids locked back in defensively. Jaeden (Mustaf) and Bryce (Cash) did a great job.”
This is how great: Carmel won the fourth quarter 30-13, dominating all facets of the game in the final period of play. Afterwards, Cash was honored for scoring 1,500 points in his high school career, which included three years at Charlotte Christian before this one.
“It’s been a long journey,” Cash said. “Since freshman year till now, I have just been blessed to be able to play here at Carmel and it has just been fun man.”
Cash knows the job isn’t finished though and they have a tough game ahead against Christ School.
“Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are going to scout and do our practices,” Cash said. “We will be prepared.”
Wertz echoed Cash’s remarks. While he is excited about the win, he knows there is still one more game for the Cougars to acheive the goal they set out for before the season began.
“I’m excited for sure,” Wertz said. “But, you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low because we have one more – and that is our goal.”
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Riley Allenspach, Providence Day: The 6-foot-10 Western Kentucky commit put his team on his back in the third quarter during his team’s comeback. He finished the game with 19 points as well as a handful of blocks. He had what was the highlight of the game to close the first half as he drained a half court buzzer beater to close the half. Find more sports news, plus coverage from Sports Illustrated.
Khamani Wertz, Carmel Christian: Wertz got it going from deep early, and kept it going. Despite getting in a little foul trouble towards the end of the game, Wertz finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists on a highly efficient shooting night.
Jaeden Mustaf, Carmel Christian: He is a 4-star prospect for a reason. When his team needed him the most, he rose to the occasion hitting huge shots in the fourth quarter stretching the Cougar lead back out.
CARMEL CHRISTIAN72 -- Freeman 3, Khamani Wertz 16, Jaeden Mustaf 18, Bryce Cash 11, Siler 4, Smith 2, Burnham 9, Marcus Jr 9
PROVIDENCE DAY 55 -- Riley Allenspach 19, Trajan Thompson 15, Hailey 9, Youakim 2, Winston 2, Appling 6, Dyer 2
CARMEL 28-3 PDS
