Boys Basketball: Jesse Kellar clutch in Wheeler win

Updated: December 27, 2011 11:01PM

VALPARAISO — The swagger simply didn’t exist with Wheeler’s Jesse Kellar.

In fact the senior had a night as powerful as he did on Tuesday and was much more acquainted to his more common role as the setup guy.

“I’m a passer, I always pass,” he said about a rather unusual output of scoring in the Wheeler High School Holiday Tournament championship game.

But whatever prior circumstances may have been, it’s becoming clear after the battle with Hobart that Kellar is a more polished shooter than he lets on. With a career best and game-high 14 points, including three clutch 3-pointers, the upperclassman helped the Bearcats pull away in a 51-40 win over the Brickies. 

Perhaps the most astounding part of Kellar’s surge was his trio from the arc. Until the last couple of minutes of the game, when the Bearcats (4-4) when on a 14-4 run much of the tempo was controlled from afar. It was the array of back-and-forth 3-pointers which caused much the contest’s lead changes. The squads combined for 15 threes.

But to Wheeler coach Tom Johnson, his squad’s long range abilities (in this case six 3’s) are a facet of having strong post performance (including 6-foot-8 senior Ryan Hensen). 

“For us, our perimeter game is good, when our inside game is good,” he said.

Given the last minutes, Hobart (5-4) coach Mike Black points to not finishing in scenarios where advantages arose.

“When they had advantages, they made us pay,” Black said. “I think our defense and rebounding let us down for a couple of minutes.”

With a collective improvement from the club, Johnson likes the direction things are heading.

“I feel like we’ve taken the next step,” he said about strong finishes.

The Brickies were led by 10 from Matthew Brown (including three treys).

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