Rams Pull Away from Indians

CARMEL—A determined Carmel High boys basketball team came out of the huddle between the third and fourth quarters and broke open what was a one-point game by out-scoring Mahopac 24-12 in the fourth en route to a 67-56 victory over the Indians in a League 1-A game played Saturday at Carmel.

Carmel’s Victor Satlov soars to the basket as Kevin Carey looks to draw charge. SKIP PEARLMAN Mike Rooney dumped in 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to pace the Rams attack. Mike Loughran added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, Aaron Smith had 11 points, Victor Satlov had eight points and Ryan Shilling added seven points, six rebounds and five assists.

Eric Lopata’s 12-point effort led Mahopac (4-7), Anthony Annunziata added nine, Ryan Wagner had eight and TJ Foley and Kevin Mallon each had seven.

The win lifted a resurgent Carmel to 8-5 overall and 3-3 in League 1-A action.

Eric Lopata of Mahopac rises to shoot, and gets fouled. SKIP PEARLMAN After the third quarter ended with Mahopac up, 44-43, the Rams came out in the fourth and played with renewed vigor.

Halfway through the fourth Loughran followed a Mahopac miss with a basket that made it 49-44. He then followed another Indian miss with a 15-footer for a 51-44 lead. With just under 3:00 to play, Mahopac’s Mallon drained a three-pointer to make it a 53- 49 game, but the Rams followed with a steal and a Rooney layup for a 55-49 advantage with 2:15 left.

Two more Mahopac turnovers and a Loughran free throw gave Carmel a 56-49 lead with 2:05, and the Rams made Mahopac pay from the line the rest of the way.

Aaron Smith hit two with 1:52 to play, Shilling hit all four of his free throws in the final minute, Loughran hit two, and Rooney added one, keeping the Indians at bay.

The Rams came in motivated in their final regular-season game against their rival, and Rooney, a senior, savored what was probably his last chance to face the Indians on the hardwood.

TJ Foley of Mahopac shoots over Carmel’s Alex Grace. SKIP PEARLMAN “It feels great,” Rooney said of the win. “Your last game against Mahopac is something you remember forever. It feels good to come back in our place.”

Carmel came out string to start the game, and led 20-8 after one. The Indians answered with a 24-10 run of their own in the second.

“We used a lot of energy in that in the first quarter,” Rooney said. “Then they came back a little. But we kept up the intensity, the fire… we struggled rebounding early, but in the third we – and especially Alex Grace – came out strong and rebounded.”

Rooney added that this season has been a far cry from Carmel’s last two – where the team struggled to find a W.

Mike Rooney of Carmel glides to basket for two of his 18 points Saturday. SKIP PEARLMAN “This year has been great,” Rooney said. “The turnaround and all… we worked hard. Last year was terrible. It was hard to even work hard. This year we have a different attitude… everything is different. We even switched uniforms (to JV uniforms).”

The season has not gone as well for Mahopac, and Annunziata – an Indians team captain – admitted this one stung.

“It was a tough loss, and it will hurt for a while,” he said. “It always hurts to lose to these guys. Both teams like to fight, no lead is safe… we tried to go on a run and take it in the second half, but you’ve got to play all four quarters. We had some lapses… we need to pick up the intensity. This season has been tough to swallow. We’ve had a lot of tough losses… you fight so hard, and end up losing. Now we just have to keep fighting.”

Rams coach George Coates was pleased to see Carmel’s push in the fourth.

“We weathered their storm,” he said. “We knew we could play better. Rooney was a key in the second half, and we hit our free throws at the end. That was the difference. And we were aggressive defensively. I think that was our best quarter offensively… the kids looked for each other and were very unselfish. Rooney had a heck of a game, and was big in the fourth, Mike Loughran was also big in the fourth, and Shilling had a nice overall game. And Satlov came off the bench and was active on the boards.”

Carmel also dropped a 78-70 decision to Panas (8-5) the prior Wednesday at home.

Loughran led Carmel with 15 points and four assists, Satlov added 15 points, Smith had 14, and Grace had 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Brian Daniels and Carl Kemmerer led Panas with 20 points each.

“There was a lot of offense, not much defense,” Coates said. “Panas played well, and shot well. We hung with them, but they executed well down the stretch.”

Carmel hosts Saunders Friday at 7 p.m., and the Rams host Yorktown Monday at 6 p.m.