Boys Basketball: Carmel’s Poyser playing with plenty of poise

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Carmel's Brandon Motzel celebrates after hitting a three-pointer during the second quarter of Saturday evening's game at Libertyville High School. Libertyville beat Carmel in overtime 83-76. | Brian O'Mahoney~For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:14AM

Despite its 7-9 overall record, the Carmel Catholic boys basketball team has proven just how dangerous it can be.

Granted, the Corsairs need to clean some things up, such as the 22 turnovers that, in large part, cost them the game against rival Libertyville on Saturday — an 83-76 overtime loss — or their occasional struggles from the foul line. 

But despite all the small flaws, there’s a huge upside for the Corsairs. Take sophomore Nickai Poyser, who scored 15 points against Libertyville. His explosive quickness to the basket, and noticeable efforts on defense, are earning him rave reviews. 

“You’re going to be hearing this guy’s name a lot the next few years,” said Carmel coach Tim Bowen. “We’re expecting to see some great things from Nickai. The first time we saw him play, he caught our eye, and we knew he belonged up here on the varsity squad.” 

Poyser was a Thanksgiving-time call-up from the sophomore team. 

“I think we’re capable of doing a lot of good things here,” Poyser said. “I thought we played really well against Libertyville, and we hit a lot of our shots (27-for-48 from the field). We just didn’t finish the game like we should have.” 

Another huge bright spot has been the play of 6-foot-7 senior Brandon Motzel, who notched a team-high 23 points and 10 rebounds against Libertyville. His tenacious play in the paint, and strong ability to take the ball to the basket on the dribble for someone his size, has made his coaches happy. 

“That’s gonna be the tough thing,” Bowen said. “With guys who are seniors like Brandon, I really wish I had another year with the same group. Because I strongly feel like these guys are starting to finally jell out there and are becoming capable of doing some great things. In the loss to Libertyville, we had a lot of young kids out there who hadn’t been in a situation like that before. But overall, I’ve been happy with what we’re doing this year. Sure, there are some mistakes, but hopefully our youngsters will learn from this.” 

Another sophomore, 6-foot-3 Ian Kristan, has a huge upside as well. Best of all, he isn’t afraid of tense moments. Kristan (6-for-11 from the field) scored 16 points against Libertyville, which included a huge basket with 28 seconds remaining in regulation to give his team the lead. That was followed by an equally big three-pointer early in overtime.  

The Corsairs’ current roster includes five seniors — but, most importantly for the team’s future — four sophomores and four juniors, too. 

“We’ve got a lot of young, good talent here,” Bowen said. “And we’re gonna need those guys to step up if we want to win these close games the rest of the season.” 

The Corsairs are near the middle of the pack in the East Suburban Catholic Conference with a 1-2 record. Their lone win was a 44-39 decision over Benet earlier this month.

Recap: With its best player in street clothes, Carmel pulled together, getting contributions from all spots on the floor to knock off visiting Wauconda 63-52 in a nonconference game on Jan. 18. Motzel (ankle injury) watched from the bench while his teammates played one of their most complete game of the season against a solid opponent.

“It was not a pretty game — very physical and a lot of grabbing and reaching,” Bowen said. “But we played aggressive and the kids worked hard. We got good shots at the basket (20-for-37 from the field) and made our free throws at the end of the game.”

Carmel was led in scoring by senior guard Connor Jordan and Poyser, each with 16 points. Kristan added 15 points.

“Our second group of kids was awesome,” Bowen said. “They executed at both ends of the floor.”

Bowen was excited about Kristan’s play.

“He’s going to be a good player for us,” Bowen said. “He’s always up there leading, or second, in points for us.”

Kristan was 5-for-7 shooting against Wauconda, including a trio of three-balls.

Carmel led 24-20 at halftime and 43-35 after three quarters.

Wauconda pulled within 52-50 on a basket by Kody Thomas with 3:40 left, but Carmel scored the next six points — including a three-point play by Jordan with 2:15 left — to secure the win.

Wauconda (9-10) got 19 points from Kyle Ryan, and Austin Swenson had nine of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.

“Carmel caught us out of sorts,” said Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager. “Their solid defense gave us trouble. It was a physical game, and we needed to be stronger with the ball.”

On the schedule: Carmel hosts Marist at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and Fremd at 6 p.m. Saturday.

—Bryan Bonato contributed