Boys Basketball: Merrillville’s Edward Seay seals it at foul line

Updated: December 13, 2011 11:21PM

MERRILLVILLE — Merrillville’s Edward Seay made two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining to turn back visiting Michigan City 48-47 on Thursday night.

The 6-foot-7 senior drained the pair before a desperation heave at the buzzer by Michigan City bounced harmlessly off of the backboard. Seay made all five of his free throws on the night and led all scorers with 13 points. Seven of his points came in the fourth quarter for the Pirates (3-3, 2-1 Duneland Conference), who trailed for much of the night.

Michigan City’s Taylor Lavery made one of two free throws to give the Wolves (2-3, 2-1 DAC) a 47-46 lead with 15.7 seconds left. His three-point play and a Lawrence Davis Jr. fast-break basket brought Michigan City back from a 46-41 deficit and tied the game with a minute left.

Before that, it was Merrillville surging ahead. The Pirates scored eight straight points early in the fourth quarter, five from Seay, to take a 40-34 edge. Michigan City came back, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“We’ve been in some tough environments,” Michigan City coach John Boyd said. “We’re a young team. We understand what we’re up against. They’re growing up.”

Lavery led Michigan City with 12 points. All of those came in the second half, eight in the fourth quarter. Stacey Whitt added eight points for the Wolves.

Jelani Pruitt had 11 points for Merrillville, as did Zoran Talley.

Talley made three 3-pointers in the second half, one to cut into a 24-19 deficit, and another to give Merrillville its first lead since the second quarter, a shot from the right baseline to open the fourth that put the Pirates ahead 32-30.

Michigan City used a 12-4 second quarter to take some semblance of control in a low-scoring, physical and uneven game, and led 18-15 at intermission.

“You get to a point where you’ve just got to make plays,” Boyd said. “We’re not a veteran team. We’re a team in search of an identity.”

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