From time to time, there's a night where a team simply isn't going to lose.

That was the No. 2 Carmel boys hoops team on Friday night, simple as that. The Greyhounds beat then-No. 6 Lawrence North for the first time in 18 years. But they didn't just beat them, frankly, they ran the Wildcats out of the gym by a final of 77-45.

I realize it was just one game. I'm sure LN realizes the same thing. But for Carmel, it was monumental. And it was done in front of a standing-room only crowd of roughly 4,000 hoop-crazed fans. I showed up about 10 til 7:00 and there wasn't an open seat in the place...40 minutes before tip.

Even during pregame, I got the sense that Carmel was all business. They were jacked up and it seemed as though every player, student and fan wearing blue and yellow had this game circled on the calendar for quite some time.

Then, it was proven in a matter of minutes. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Mark Galloway's group used a flurry of offense and stout defense to explode for an 18-2 lead. The Greyhounds couldn't be stopped, and LN collectively looked like they didn't know what hit them.

By the way, Carmel point guard Daniel Moore can hoop with the best of them. The kid is special. He wound up with 19 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Not a bad stat line, except for the fact that it still doesn't do him justice. Moore could be described as an athlete...an All-State soccer player that just happens to also have a shot at going D-I on the hardwood. He looks to pass first and shoot second, and he uses his body incredibly well to penetrate the lane.

As you can tell, I was impressed with the Greyhounds. Between Moore, Stuart Douglass, Jordan Brewer, Morgan Newton and Charlie Hansen, this squad has a lot of ways it can beat you. And perhaps the defensive unit was the most notable strength as anything else. I haven't seen No. 1 New Albany play this season, but I'd be hard pressed to think they could look much better than Carmel did on Friday.

But as impressed as I was on Friday, I'd have to say that I was a thrown off a bit when I saw the 'Hounds sqeaked one out on Saturday at Zionsville by just six points. After such an emotional win for a conference title on Friday, you can see how there could be a bit of a letdown the next night.

The question is, are the Greyhounds the slight favorite in 4A? They've got a shot to be undefeated heading into the tournament, as their biggest road block is a Feb. 12 showdown at Warren Central.


OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:

• After just writing about Carmel above, I'd rather not mention the school again right here. But it's pretty hard to ignore the fact that the Carmel girls swimming team qualified 23 athletes - four short of the maximum - to compete at this coming Saturday's state finals. That depth has put them in a position to win No. 22 in a row.
• Last week I mentioned the Chatard boys hoops team, and now the Trojans aren't making me look too good. After upsetting Cathedral to move to 12-2 on the season, Chatard lost back-to-back games to Roncalli and Anderson this weekend. Roncalli is playing tougher as the season progresses, so 3A Sectional 26 is looking more and more ridiculous as time passes. You've got Chatard (12-4), Roncalli (12-2), Northwest (13-3), Howe (10-5) and Beech Grove (12-3) all vying for the title.
• The fun starts this week for girls basketball teams across the state. Anyone care to go out on a limb and predict an "upset" sectional champion? If I had to choose an under-the-radar squad that could pull it off, it would be Fishers. That means the Tigers would have to beat Zionsville, then the winner between No. 7 Carmel and No. 13 Hamilton Southeastern, followed by a sectional title game against either Noblesville or Westfield.