The basketball team finished off their season at the final sectional game against Carmel on Saturday, March 10. The game was close, but Carmel won 44-51.
“The beginning [of the game] was not what we wanted, but by the end we were playing well,” senior Tyler Janney said. “We proved a lot of people wrong even though it didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”
The Royals trailed by seven points at the end of both the first and second quarters. By the end of the third, they had narrowed the gap to 31-34. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Royals tied the game 34-34 and had the opportunity to score again. However, Carmel countered with two three-point shots to regain their lead. In the end, after four timeouts in the last five minutes, Carmel won the game 44-51.
“We got close and came together as a team,” senior Ty Scholl said of the game. “We stopped being selfish and started being more cohesive.”
The Royals defeated Westfield 64-34 on Wednesday, March 4 and Zionsville 42-38 on Friday, March 6. Though they did not beat Carmel, they finished the season strong.
“By the end of the year, we had great team chemistry and liked to have fun and clown,” Janney said. “We never gave up; we battled it out.”
Another team that finished strong this year consisted of fans: the Blue Crew won this year’s Operation Basketball Spirit Award.
“We went to all the games,” senior Mark Beuoy said in the student section before the sectional game against Carmel. “No matter what team, or how far away, we always brought a rowdy crowd.”
Beuoy and senior Michael Huffer were in charge of coordinating all Blue Crew events and winning the Spirit Award for the school. Dave Calabro, along with several others at Channel 13 news, voted on the student section with the most spirit and revealed the winner at 11 p.m. on Friday, March 6. Beuoy and Huffer have been in contact with Calabro over social media throughout the season. They also sent him a video they created using photos and videos from basketball games to highlight the season.
“It was our mission to win,” Huffer said. “It’s been our goal since freshman year.”
