The men’s basketball team will travel to Lawrence North to play on Friday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. It will be a game between the leading teams in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC). Carmel (13-1 overall, 4-0 in MIC play) is leading the conference with Lawrence North (14-3, 3-1) second in the standings.

“It’s going to be another challenge for us,” Head Coach Scott Heady said. “(Lawrence North has) three losses, all to very good teams. They are a very big and athletic team.”

Senior Basil Smotherman, a 6’4” small forward and Purdue-commit, leads Lawrence North. Carmel leads the conference in points allowed, having allowed 695 points in 14 games, but Heady acknowledged that Smotherman presents a new challenge.

“We have a base defense (that we run) where we pressure the ball and try to eliminate deep post touches,” Heady said. “Based on our scouting report, we will tweak that defense based on the other team’s personnel. (Basil) can be a difficult matchup because he is so long, but they also have other players that lead to a balanced attack.”

Starter and junior Zach McRoberts, who will be defending Smotherman for most of the game, said the atmosphere will also play a role in the game.

“I’m looking forward to the road atmosphere,” he said. “Anytime you play a conference road game, it’s a rough atmosphere to go into.”