Carmel Christian rallies past No. 1 Myers Park in thrilling heavyweight battle
BY STEVE LYTTLE
High school basketball fans hoped Saturday night’s finale of the Phenom Hoops MLK Classic at Carmel Christian would answer the question: How much difference is there between the state’s top-ranked public school team and the No. 1-rated private school team?
Now we know the answer – a loose ball, and a couple of seconds.
That’s about all that separated Carmel Christian, the defending 4A private school state champion, and Myers Park, the No. 25 team in MaxPreps national rankings. Host Carmel Christian, No. 1 in the statewide private school poll, prevailed 52-51 before a sellout crowd that included huge contingents of vociferous student fan sections from both schools.
“It was an electric atmosphere,” Carmel Christian coach Joe Badgett said.
Badgett’s Cougars (21-3) raced to a six-point lead in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half. Coach Scott Taylor’s Mustangs (13-4) battled back in the third quarter, outscoring Carmel Christian 18-10 and taking a 40-36 lead at the end of the period.
Park led by as much as 46-38 with 5:22 left, but Carmel Christian scored 14 of the final 19 points.
The game ended with some controversy. Myers Park’s Sam Walters hit a 3-point field goal with 1.5 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 52-51. Then the Mustangs thought they’d stolen the inbounds pass, but the buzzer went off, and officials ruled the game had ended.
“We showed that we are resilient,” said Cougars’ forward Jaedan Mustaf, who scored a game-high 21 points, many of them heavily-contested under the Myers Park basket.
So here are some takeaways from a game that might turn out – depending on how things go in the playoffs later this season – to be North Carolina’s Game of the Year.
CARMEL IS CRUISING
A year ago at this time, Badgett was talking about his team being a long way away from where he wanted it to be.
“I think we’re ahead of where we were at this point last year,” Badgett conceded/ There are two things that are different than last season, he said. “We’re ahead defensively,” he said. “There are still some things that we have to work out, but we’re ahead of last year defensively.”
Saturday’s contest looked like a Big Ten game. It was rugged, with much of the scoring around the basket. Players landed on the floor on nearly every play.
“We expect a half-court game,” Taylor said before the contest. That’s what happened. But it should be noted that Carmel Christian’s late surge started with a pair of 3-point field goals by Mustaf, on back-to-back possessions with about four minutes left. That cut the Myers Park lead from 46-38 to 46-44.
For the most part, though, it was a tough game, and the Cougars held their own.
MYERS PARK IS FINE
A one-point loss to the state’s No. 1 private school team on their floor is no reason to panic. Myers Park had won seven in a row prior to Saturday night and still looks like a legitimate 4A state championship contender.
Sir Mohammed had a big night, with 16 points and five rebounds. The Mustangs were hurt by the loss of center Elijah Strong, who scored 10 points before fouling out with 1:15 left.
But Myers Park settled down after a shaky start. They out-rebounded Carmel Christian 9-4 and shot better than 50 percent from the floor in their big third quarter. And the Mustang defense forced four Carmel Christian turnovers.
Myers Park has seven regular-season games remaining and will be favored in at least six of them, up until the finale Feb. 10 at Olympic.
WHAT CARMEL LEARNED …
Badgett said he learned something about his team in Saturday’s victory. “I saw that this team won’t quit,” he said. “We were down 8, but we came back.”
He gave a lot of the credit to his assistant coaches, twins Chavis and Travis Holmes. “They have played professional basketball,” he said of the brothers. “They’ve experienced this game in all kinds of levels. They keep their cool.”
Badgett said the coaches’ behavior is contagious. “Our players see how the coaches are handling things,” he said. “We coaches don’t quit, so our players keep going.”
Like Myers Park, Carmel Christian will be favored in all but perhaps its final regular-season game. The last of the Cougars’ six remaining contests is Feb. 11, against Maryland powerhouse Shabach Christian Academy, in Landover.
After that, the Cougars will begin the chase for another state championship.
BY STEVE LYTTLE
High school basketball fans hoped Saturday night’s finale of the Phenom Hoops MLK Classic at Carmel Christian would answer the question: How much difference is there between the state’s top-ranked public school team and the No. 1-rated private school team?
Now we know the answer – a loose ball, and a couple of seconds.
That’s about all that separated Carmel Christian, the defending 4A private school state champion, and Myers Park, the No. 25 team in MaxPreps national rankings. Host Carmel Christian, No. 1 in the statewide private school poll, prevailed 52-51 before a sellout crowd that included huge contingents of vociferous student fan sections from both schools.
“It was an electric atmosphere,” Carmel Christian coach Joe Badgett said.
Badgett’s Cougars (21-3) raced to a six-point lead in the first quarter and never trailed in the first half. Coach Scott Taylor’s Mustangs (13-4) battled back in the third quarter, outscoring Carmel Christian 18-10 and taking a 40-36 lead at the end of the period.
Park led by as much as 46-38 with 5:22 left, but Carmel Christian scored 14 of the final 19 points.
The game ended with some controversy. Myers Park’s Sam Walters hit a 3-point field goal with 1.5 seconds left, cutting the deficit to 52-51. Then the Mustangs thought they’d stolen the inbounds pass, but the buzzer went off, and officials ruled the game had ended.
“We showed that we are resilient,” said Cougars’ forward Jaedan Mustaf, who scored a game-high 21 points, many of them heavily-contested under the Myers Park basket.
So here are some takeaways from a game that might turn out – depending on how things go in the playoffs later this season – to be North Carolina’s Game of the Year.
CARMEL IS CRUISING
A year ago at this time, Badgett was talking about his team being a long way away from where he wanted it to be.
“I think we’re ahead of where we were at this point last year,” Badgett conceded/ There are two things that are different than last season, he said. “We’re ahead defensively,” he said. “There are still some things that we have to work out, but we’re ahead of last year defensively.”
Saturday’s contest looked like a Big Ten game. It was rugged, with much of the scoring around the basket. Players landed on the floor on nearly every play.
“We expect a half-court game,” Taylor said before the contest. That’s what happened. But it should be noted that Carmel Christian’s late surge started with a pair of 3-point field goals by Mustaf, on back-to-back possessions with about four minutes left. That cut the Myers Park lead from 46-38 to 46-44.
For the most part, though, it was a tough game, and the Cougars held their own.
MYERS PARK IS FINE
A one-point loss to the state’s No. 1 private school team on their floor is no reason to panic. Myers Park had won seven in a row prior to Saturday night and still looks like a legitimate 4A state championship contender.
Sir Mohammed had a big night, with 16 points and five rebounds. The Mustangs were hurt by the loss of center Elijah Strong, who scored 10 points before fouling out with 1:15 left.
But Myers Park settled down after a shaky start. They out-rebounded Carmel Christian 9-4 and shot better than 50 percent from the floor in their big third quarter. And the Mustang defense forced four Carmel Christian turnovers.
Myers Park has seven regular-season games remaining and will be favored in at least six of them, up until the finale Feb. 10 at Olympic.
WHAT CARMEL LEARNED …
Badgett said he learned something about his team in Saturday’s victory. “I saw that this team won’t quit,” he said. “We were down 8, but we came back.”
He gave a lot of the credit to his assistant coaches, twins Chavis and Travis Holmes. “They have played professional basketball,” he said of the brothers. “They’ve experienced this game in all kinds of levels. They keep their cool.”
Badgett said the coaches’ behavior is contagious. “Our players see how the coaches are handling things,” he said. “We coaches don’t quit, so our players keep going.”
Like Myers Park, Carmel Christian will be favored in all but perhaps its final regular-season game. The last of the Cougars’ six remaining contests is Feb. 11, against Maryland powerhouse Shabach Christian Academy, in Landover.
After that, the Cougars will begin the chase for another state championship.
