Couper, Boylan seniors hang on against Carmel

Experience beat out youthful exuberance.

When down by 13 points in the fourth quarter Monday night, a young Carmel team threw caution to the wind to climb back in and cut its deficit to a single point with about a minute to play.

But a savvy and veteran Rockford Boylan team refused to hit the panic button.

Eventually, Rockford Boylan, which relies heavily on seven seniors, wound up pulling out a 66-62 victory over Carmel on the first day of Grant's Thanksgiving tournament.

"It's a testament to our team and what we've been working on for four years," Rockford Boylan senior guard Zach Couper said. "I couldn't be more proud of the team. We have a great group of seniors, kids that have gone through all of middle school and high school together.

"When we got to that point where (Carmel was) coming back, we just had the comfort and security that we would be able to find a way to win."

Couper certainly did his part. He poured in a game-high 32 points, including 4 three-pointers. Teammates Kevin Diemer and Max Farson also scored in double-figures with 16 and 10 points respectively.

"Last year, Zach played the role of shooter and this year he has added other elements to his game offensively that make it very difficult to guard him," Rockford Boylan coach Brett McAllister said. "You can't just key on him as a shooter. He does so many more things."

Carmel was versatile in its offense, too, getting double-figures from three players. Zion Kilpatrick led the way with 18 points while Brian Julien and John Barr each scored 13 points.

Carmel, which plays five sophomores, was down 56-43 early in the fourth quarter by went on a 14-2 run to cut its deficit to just 2 points with about three minutes remaining.

"We just didn't give up. We talked about how we were going to go on a run eventually because we're a really good team," Carmel coach Zack Ryan. "That was really good especially with so many young guys. This tournament is great for us because we'll see exactly where we're at. We just did some "young-guy stuff" that we need to keep working on."

Up 62-61 with about 45 seconds left, Rockford Boylan gained some distance, and ultimately the win, with 2 free throws and a driving layup by Couper.

Carmel had opportunities to tie the game in the final seconds with a three-pointer but fell just short.

"It took a lot of hard work to get back in the game," Kilpatrick said. "We just kept fighting. We clawed back in and gave ourselves a chance to win. We're pretty young but we'll get it."