Carmel comes back on Maine W.

Almost nothing went right for the Carmel boys basketball team in the first quarter of Tuesday's game against Maine West in the Mundelein Thanksgiving Tournament.

The Corsairs missed their first 10 shots and gave Maine West too many good looks. After eight minutes, Carmel trailed 17-6.

Fortunately for the Corsairs, they looked like a different team the rest of the way. Carmel used a huge advantage at the free-throw line to rally for a 56-53 victory.

"We came out on our heels," coach John Ryan said. "We went to a full-court (press) and that got us going. Our defense energized us."

This was the first victory of the season for Carmel (1-1). Maine West dropped to 0-2.

Carmel caught a break at the very end of the first quarter when junior Jonathan Huisel was fouled while attempting a tough 3-pointer at the buzzer. He made 2 of 3 free throws, and Carmel went on to make a living at the line.

Maine West committed 15 fouls in the first half, and for the game Carmel made 16 of its 23 free throws. Maine West was 8 of 16 from the line.

Carmel took the lead for good (45-42) on a 3-pointer by senior Ryan Kloss, who finished with a game-high 21 points and 9 rebounds. Kloss hit another 3-poiner to make it 48-44 and his 3-point play increased the margin to 51-44 with 1:16 left.

"He does so many good things on both ends of the floor," Ryan said. "He's (extremely) active. Sometimes I'll turn to my assistant coach and ask where he came from."

Consecutive turnovers by Carmel and quick Maine West baskets tied the score at 51-51. From there, junior Connor Garvey (10 points) scored Carmel's final 5 points to secure the victory.

Garvey's first basket, a layup, came off an alert entry feed from senior guard Jacob Mathis.

"He made a great pass and I was able to finish at the rim," Garvey said.

The next one came after Kloss rebounded a missed free throw with Carmel leading 53-52. He quickly advanced the ball down the floor and found Garvey for a layup.

"I was able to push past the (defensive) pressure and find him," Kloss said.

After Maine West cut its deficit to two points, Garvey was fouled. He made the first free-throw and missed the second to give Carmel a 56-53 lead. Maine West got the rebound but missed a shot at the buzzer.

"He's capable of doing that," Ryan said about Garvey. "He has a scorer's mentality."

Although Carmel was sloppy with the ball at times, the Corsairs made good decisions for most of the fourth quarter.

"We're getting better at handling pressure," Ryan said. "Part of that is knowing what to do and part is being mentally tough."