By Ben Davis
When it comes to high school basketball, teams take every win they can get. And the LaPorte Slicers will certainly take their 55-51 win over the Chesterton Trojans on Friday night, Feb. 19, at the Slicer gym.
“They (Chesterton) are just a hard team to get separation from,” said Slicer Coach Tom Wells. “We got away with not playing very well tonight and still coming up with a win. We did not shoot the ball very well at all.”
After a very sloppy opening quarter, the Trojans surged to a five-point lead behind the hot three-point shooting of Scott Homner, who made four three-pointers in the first half. The Slicers found themselves down one at the half, 24-25, before taking control of the game in the third quarter behind the stellar play of Evan Jurjevic, who tallied 14 points in the contest, and fellow senior Dustin DeMuth, who scored a team-high 16. The Slicers ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run, which gave them a 41-33 lead heading into the third quarter.
“Our third quarter lately has really been a difference maker,” said Wells. “We have really played well.”
The Slicers had to play a different style of basketball than their normal three-point shooting approach. Due to poor outside shooting, the Slicers were forced to work the ball inside for most of their scoring. But the team adapted to the game and was able to come out with a win.
“We did not shoot the ball well tonight,” said Jurjevic. “But I think we stuck with it and really hit the boards hard for some inside baskets. I think that will take our team to the next level if we are able to do that on a nightly basis.”
Wells said finishing well in the conference would be a really nice achievement heading into sectional play, which is just about a week away. His team has the rest of the weekend off, followed by a light workout on Monday, then three “hard” days of practice, he said.
The Slicers will then be back in action next Friday when they take on Lake Central at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Central.
Final statistics
LaPorte (55)
Dustin DeMuth 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Evan Jurjevic 14 points, 2 assists
Jacob Craft 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Patrick Spence 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Rich Leslie 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Scott Vaughn 8 points, 1 rebound
Chesterton (51)
Remy Lewis 8 points, 1 rebound
KeMonte Price 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
Fred Price 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Scott Homner 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Alec Houpt 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Blake Sleicher 2 points, 1 rebound
Kyle Schmidt 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
