CHESTERTON — When Chesterton’s Chris Palombizio took a few minutes to collect his thoughts before Tuesday’s game against Munster, a lot weighed on his mind.
The senior was about to play his final game on his home floor. He was coming off a cold shooting night in a loss to Mishawaka Marian on Friday. The Trojans had lost three in a row.
Perhaps what bothered him above all was the fact that he had not defeated Munster in any of his first three seasons.
Palombizio put the Mustangs’ six-game winning streak against the Trojans to rest, scoring a game-high 29 points to lift Chesterton to a 76-60 victory.
“I’ve got to learn to shake off bad games and put them in the past,” Palombizio said. “I wanted to redeem myself from last game. I wanted to make a statement and get at least one win against Munster. They’re a great team, and Drew Hackett is one of my good friends.”
The friendly rivalry between Drew Hackett and Palombizio wasn’t the only one in place on Tuesday. Munster coach Mike Hackett and Chesterton coach Tom Peller coached together for 14 years at Merrillville.
“I’ve had a hard time beating my buddy Hackett,” Peller said. “He’s a great coach, so that’s always nice, but it’s not me versus Hackett. It’s about our team, and it’s nice to beat a team like Munster.”
Palombizio started the game on a tear, scoring 10 points in the first three minutes to help the Trojans (14-7) to a 13-3 lead. His basket with seven minutes left in the second quarter boosted Chesterton’s lead to 28-6. In the process, it upped Palombizio’s game total to 16 points and moved him into second place on Chesterton’s all-time scoring list.
Only former Michigan guard Zack Novak ranks above Palombizio in career points.
“I wanted to go out with a bang and leave this court happy,” Palombizio said. “This town’s been good to me. I’m glad I never left; it was a good decision. There are good people here.”
After facing a 24-point deficit early in the second quarter, the Mustangs (13-9) embarked on a 12-0 run and clawed within 10 at halftime. However, the early hole proved to be too much to overcome.
“I was scared this was going to happen,” Mike Hackett said. “That’s a very good team coming off losing three games in a row. I knew they were going to be very focused, desperate and hungry for a win. I’m disappointed in how we started the game, but after that we battled like crazy.”
Rhyss Lewis (15), Jack Mullen (11) and Jacob Weber (11) joined Palombizio in double figures, while Adam Ostoich led the Mustangs with 15 points.
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“We needed something positive going into Valparaiso (on Friday),” Peller said. “This was big for us. You don’t want to lose three games in a row on your home court. Munster is very capable of beating us on any given night.”
Brandon Vickrey is a freelance reporter.