Change of ‘D’ lifts Mustangs

Updated: January 17, 2012 10:16PM

MUNSTER — Shooting efficiency was great for Munster in the first half. Ball handling was lousy. Very lousy.

The Mustangs scored 22 points and only took 11 shots. They turned it over 18 times in the first 16 minutes.

The good news in Munster’s 64-42 victory over Michigan City on Tuesday was that the game was tied at halftime.

The bad news was that the sloppy ball handling forced Munster to reconsider its defensive options. It was bad news for the Wolves, who couldn’t figure out the Mustangs’ zone.

The Mustangs decided to switch out of their man-to-man defense and went into a 1-3-1.

The trapping, extended zone with big guards like Mike Schlotman (6-3) and forward Mark Strbjak (6-4) and Danilo Zekovic (6-6) at the top proved to be an unsolvable riddle for the Wolves.

They turned the ball over six straight times during one stretch — a stretch that proved fatal to Michigan City’s chances in a 25-7 third quarter for Munster.

“We just had no answer for it,” Michigan City coach John Boyd said. “It was like we had never played against a zone.”

Munster coach Mike Hackett didn’t necessarily want to go to a zone. He just felt like he had to do something to get his team untracked offensively.

“It’s something we’ve used in the past but we haven’t played it a lot lately,” Hackett said.

He might have to consider doing it a little more. Michigan City stayed in the game in the first half because it made 4 of 13 from 3-point range and only had two turnovers at halftime.

The Mustangs stayed with the Wolves because they got to the free throw line 10 times in the first half and made seven of them. The third quarter rout started with a 17-0 run that finally ended with eight seconds left when Lawrence Davis Jr. made a basket. The drought for Michigan City lasted more than seven minutes.

Once the Mustangs grab a lead, they are virtually unstoppable, particularly at home. All they have to do then is throw the ball around top with their ball handlers, like Schlotman and Scott Jerge and look for back-door cuts.

The lead reached to as much as 20 for the Mustangs before Hackett emptied his bench.

The Mustangs got a big game from Danilo Zekovic, a 6-6 forward/guard. Zekovic, who played last year in Europe, finished with 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Zekovic, who missed the first four games of the season, said he’s starting to get more “comfortable” with the style of play in America. He was the most consistent offensive performer for the Mustangs, fighting for points inside when the Mustangs’ offense was stuck in a first half rut.

Hackett said the team should get even better as Zekovic starts to get more acclimated to the game over here.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.