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Boys Basketball: Merrillville just getting started
Updated: February 17, 2012 10:22PM
MERRILLVILLE — T.J. Lux called it a preview of what’s to come.
Lux figures his Merrillville team’s edge-of-the-seat 53-52 Duneland Conference victory over Valparaiso on Friday was simply a taste of what fans can expect to see in less than two weeks at a wide-open Class 4A Michigan City Sectional.
“Almost anybody in that sectional can win it,” Lux said. “It comes down to execution. That’s been a big point of emphasis for us, and tonight we did that pretty well.”
A driving baseline runner by Valparaiso’s Bret Boetel rimmed off and an attempted putback by John Mosser came up short as the buzzer sounded, lifting the surging Pirates to their third straight victory.
Merrillville, though, missed the front ends of two straight one-and-one free-throw situations to allow the Vikings the last-second opportunities. Even so, Valparaiso committed two critical turnovers in the game’s final 1:16.
The Vikings (12-7, 8-5 DAC) have lost three straight, and two of them have been by one point.
“I’m not a good loser,” Otis said. “We wasted several opportunities in the second half and particularly the fourth quarter. Turnover, turnover, turnover. We didn’t finish.”
The Pirates (11-7, 8-5 DAC) forced Valparaiso into 15 turnovers while committing just five of their own, including only one in the second half.
“Coach Otis wants to control the tempo,” Lux said. “They’re so deliberate and patient on offense, we just wanted to disrupt that a bit by picking and choosing our spots to pressure them, and to mix it up and keep them off-balance.”
Jelani Pruitt scored a game-high 13 points to pace Merrillville, but it was 6-foot-4 senior center John Mosley who was key in the post, scoring 12 and grabbing seven rebounds.
“He did a great job of disrupting things defensively,” Lux said. “His improvement from the start of the year has been huge for us.”
Mosser scored 12 to lead the Vikings, while Andrew Kittridge added nine and grabbed seven rebounds.
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