Fort Wayne Snider Upsets No. 8 Carmel 54-46, Advances to Semistate

Fort Wayne Snider walked into the New Castle Regional on Saturday as an underdog and walked out with one of the weekend's cleanest upsets, defeating No. 8 Carmel 54-46 to advance to next Saturday's semistate.

The margin tells part of the story. Eight points in a regional championship game against a ranked opponent isn't a fluke; it's a statement. Carmel entered the game at 18-6, a program with enough pedigree to carry that No. 8 ranking into the postseason, and Snider made them look beatable from tip to buzzer.

The Panthers controlled enough of the game to keep Carmel from ever fully getting comfortable. A 54-46 final in tournament basketball, where possessions tighten and free throws matter more than any other time of year, reflects a disciplined performance. Snider didn't just steal this one late; they held a consistent enough edge to close it out.

For Carmel, the loss ends a season that showed real promise. An 18-6 record is respectable, but the Greyhounds never found the answer for what Snider was doing defensively, and the final score reflects that gap. March doesn't grade on a curve.

Snider now moves on to the semistate round next Saturday, a result that will have programs across Indiana reassessing what the Panthers are capable of in 2026. Regional weekend produces its share of surprises, but a double-digit underdog dismantling a top-10 program by eight in a championship game is the kind of result that reframes a season entirely.