Before Friday night’s game, Chesterton’s Austin Peterson noticed a lot of shots going in — again.
“We’re a pretty good shooting team, so we’re usually making a lot in warmups,” he said. “Everyone feels good before the game. It’s nice, going into a game, to have that confidence.”
Peterson, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, then made his first four shots as part of a perfect 9-for-9 start for the Trojans.
Chesterton still had to withstand host Lake Central’s rally, pulling away in the second half for a 60-53 Duneland Athletic Conference victory.
“We were well prepared,” Peterson said. “We knew what we had coming for us and that helped out a lot.”
Peterson finished with 14 points for Chesterton (14-2, 3-1), while Ky Palombizio scored eight in the first quarter as part of his team-high total of 18.
“I’ve been playing with these guys all my life and we’ve been busting out on teams like that for years,” Palombizio said of his team’s hot start. “We had a long week to prepare for them and I think that’s what geared us up.”
Chesterton cooled slightly in the final three quarters, but still finished the game shooting 59 percent (24-for-41).
“We have kids who can shoot and I liked the looks we were getting,” Chesterton coach Marc Urban said. “The ball was moving, and it didn’t matter whose turn it was to ring the bell. They rung it.”
Lake Central (9-7, 1-2) was led by a game-high 19 points from senior Justin Graciano, but the Indians were in a 26-9 hole early in the second quarter.
Junior Jack Davis helped narrow the gap with a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, though, and Lake Central trailed by just four points to start the second half.
“It was ball movement,” Lake Central coach Dave Milausnic said. “I talked to our guys about that. Sometimes, we scratch and claw back into games because we take a step back and look for good shots.”
A dunk from Lake Central senior Keon Sellers forced a 30-30 tie early in the third quarter, but Chesterton built a five-point lead to start the fourth and remained ahead the rest of the way.
“We’re getting so much better as a basketball team and we keep growing up,” Urban said. “It was good to come on the road into a good environment and start off hot. They grinded back into it, but we made plays down the stretch.”
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Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.