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Boys Basketball: Just enough horsepower
Updated: February 17, 2012 10:46PM
MUNSTER — When Nick Davidson went to the free-throw line, the Munster student section yelled, “Traitor” at the Andrean junior, who grew up in the Mustangs school system.
The Munster gym was full of people 20 minutes before the game started. There was lots of familiarity between the schools and coaches and plenty of intensity for two evenly matched teams.
It was a classic neighborhood Indiana high school game between two quality teams.
The Mustangs won the battle 69-59 against the 59ers on Friday, but not without spending every drop of energy and using every jolt they could get from the raucous crowd.
After the buzzer sounded, the student body poured out of the stands onto the floor and flooded the Mustangs bench. It was the 30th straight Northwest Crossroad Conference game Munster has won. The Mustangs have never lost a game in the NCC.
Munster coach Mike Hackett savored the difficult victory and the roar of the crowd afterward.
“We get to play in this atmosphere two or three times a year,” Hackett said. “Some kids don’t ever to get to play in front of a crowd like this. It was unbelievable. This was as good as it gets. I try to get the kids to understand that.”
Said Mike Schlotman, who led Munster with 21 points and three assists: “That was a blast.”
The first half featured plenty of back-and-forth between the two teams.
Munster jumped ahead 21-14 at the start of the first quarter after a basket inside by Mark Strbjak.
Andrean responded with a 13-3 run. The 59ers took the lead 27-24 after Mike Davis hit a 3-pointer with 3:06 left in the first half.
The 59ers were able to take a 30-28 lead at halftime but not without a cost. Both their big men — Josh James and Skyler Moss — were saddled with three fouls. Moss, a bulky 6-4 forward, picked up his third foul on a charge with 16.6 seconds left.
Andrean held Munster to 8-of-23 shooting in the first half (3-of-13 from the 3-point line) but the Mustangs made 9-of-13 from the free-throw line.
The foul issues hurt Andrean in the second half, helping to open up the lane for Schlotman. Schlotman was able to penetrate to the middle and get layups, partially because James couldn’t help for fear of picking up his fourth foul.
Schlotman said Hackett told him to go for it.
“He just said play like it’s open gym,” Schlotman.
The helter-skelter style of the 59ers kept them in the game even after Munster opened up a four-point lead with 5:00 left.
Andrean pressed and trapped in the corners against the Mustangs’ burn offense, tying the game with 4:49 left on a pair of free throws by Davis.
Munster scored four straight to take a 57-52 lead but a three-point play the old fashioned way by Colin Wojcik cut the lead to a point with 2:42 left.
Andrean had one chance to tie the game with just over a minute left but a 3-pointer by Joyce bounced short off the rim.
Andrean clearly was tired in the final minutes — something that Carson Cunningham took the blame for. Cunningham said he should’ve subbed more freely or called a timeout to get rest for his guys.
Davidson led the 59ers with 17 points and one assist while Wojcik pitched in with 16 points. Mark Strbjak had 16 points for Munster.
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