On Feb. 26, the CHS men’s varsity basketball team defeated Zionsville 57-38 in the first round of IHSAA Sectional 8. Junior Zach McRoberts led the team in scoring with 17 points.

Carmel jumped out to a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, and after a back-and-forth second quarter, senior Grant Goodman rebounded a miss and scored just before the halftime buzzer, giving Carmel a 22-19 halftime lead. Senior Michael Volovic picked up two early fouls in the half, leading to defensive switches including placing McRoberts on Zionsville star guard Andrew Dakich.

Led by scoring by McRoberts and senior James Crowley, Carmel took control of the game with a decisive scoring run early in the third quarter. The team opened the first 2:05 of the third quarter on a 6-1 run and forced a Zionsville timeout. Following the timeout, Carmel continued their run, and after a three-pointer by senior James Volovic, Carmel stretched their lead to 35-23 with 4:29 left in third, forcing another timeout by Zionsville. Sophomore Ryan Cline added to the scoring barrage by hitting a three-pointer to extend the lead to 43-25, a lead which Carmel held for the remainder of the quarter. The 21-6 run over the entire third quarter left Carmel in the lead 43-25 with one quarter to play.

Head Coach Scott Heady removed the starters from the game midway through the fourth quarter, and Carmel ended up with a 57-38 victory.

Carmel will play Noblesville in the second round on March 1 at 6 p.m. The game will be held at Carmel.

For photos from the game, click here