Game Takes: Ben Davis 46, Carmel 45

Neither team could grab hold of this game.  Ben Davis' largest lead was six, and at a time when it seemed they were one more stop/score from starting to nail down the coffin,  Carmel immediately went on an 8-0 run.  Carmel's largest lead was four, and ultimately, they couldn't keep Ben Davis, mostly Zane Doughty, off the offensive glass to build much momentum.

• There were two areas of concern for Carmel (really for any team playing Ben Davis), which are obvious in all games, but this is how Ben Davis really separates itself most games.  Live ball turnovers, including blocked shots, that lead to transition baskets, and offensive rebounds -- easy baskets and extra possessions.
  • Carmel, to my recollection only had two or three live ball turnovers, one of which was gathered 83' away from Ben Davis' basket, and there wasn't any conversion after Doughty's blocks.  Ben Davis was able to convert a miss at the rim by Sam Orme into an easy basket on the other end -- a huge four point swing -- but Ben Davis didn't get much in transition.
  • Keeping Doughty off the glass, despite how much they made him work, wasn't happening.  Doughty has an endless motor, and it was physical underneath.  Jared Bonds did his best to never let Doughty go unchecked, and Orme and Spender White both rebound their positions well.  Doughty turned great Carmel stops into second chances.
• Doughty struggled with his back to the basket, and it's never been his strong suit.  He has gotten better, however, at facing and scoring, including a nice double move to score.  How much of that translates into the Missouri Valley vs. bigger defenders is a question, but that's part of the development most players go through moving up the ladder.
  • Keep in mind, the other aspects of his game translate very well -- defense, motor, rebounding
• Carmel's defense took away almost all of Ben Davis' primary actions.  Many of which involve ball screens.  Ben Davis could rely on their half court motion (Flow) to work Carmel's defense and work for good shots. 
  • One of the underrated things about Ben Davis.  They can possess the ball while still looking to score.  They aren't a team that over dribbles or has to hold it to run clock.
  • Early in the game, Mark Zachery found shots on the back side, and as did Clay Butler.  Butler closed the game out, hitting 5-6 FT.
• Ben Davis did disrupt Carmel's offense, but without forcing live ball turnovers, Carmel was still able to get into their entries into Motion.  
• Orme scored 15 of his 23 in the second half, and he was the 8-0 run when Carmel was down by six.  
• All in all Carmel exploited the times Ben Davis would gamble a bit in passing gaps.  Alex Couto, especially, hit a couple of mid-range jumpers.  They didn't get as much out of their Motion, but they quickly move into secondary set calls as well as any team in the state.  (There are couple of things they do that also turn into a continuities with a lot backside opportunities.)
  • Could always use more curl cuts.  🙂 

Inexplicably, Ben Davis broke a five game Carmel winning streak in this series, which by my count is part of a run in which Carmel had won 18 of the last 20.  Ben Davis remains undefeated with regular season games left.  Carmel is getting healthy, with only one of their instate losses bigger than one possession, a game which was two possessions until the final 90 seconds or so.