With a hand in his face, Jevon Morris elevated and nailed a jump shot as time expired in Friday night’s third quarter.
It was that sort of Northwest Crossroads Conference game for the 6-foot-2 junior guard.
Morris scored 29 points as Munster topped visiting Andrean 76-60.
He helped the Mustangs (14-6, 5-0) clinch the conference title, rallying from a 13-point deficit in the second quarter against the 59ers (12-8, 3-1). He shot 8-for-16 from the floor and 11-for-12 from the foul line.
“I’m just really excited,” Morris said. “My teammates got me the ball and I had to attack the basket. I knew none of them could stay in front of me, just having that confidence. I knew I could kick it out to my teammates for an assist or get a layup or get fouled.”
More Top Picks Ratings
Tyler Zabrecky added 14 points for Munster. Josh Davis had 13 and Nick Fies added 12.
John Carrothers led the 59ers with 17 points. James Hudson had 16 and Kyle Ross contributed 15.
Munster shot 27-for-31 from the foul line, including 15-for-15 in the fourth, and Andrean shot 6-for-15.
“The free-throw disparity was the difference,” Andrean coach Brad Stangel said. “What they did in the second quarter, they put their head down and got to the rim and got to the free-throw line. That was the difference.”
The 59ers led 29-16 in the first half with 4:41 left when Caden Helfrich hit a 3-pointer. But Davis made a 3-pointer to cap a 13-0 run. Morris had eight of his 10 points in the second quarter to tie the score with 2:08 left.
Coach Mike Hackett liked the way Munster responded to snap a three-game losing streak.
“It sure didn’t look good early,” Hackett said. “That’s exactly how we played against Chesterton our last game, so I was thinking, ‘Here we go again.’
“But to the kids’ credit, they kept their heads, they kept battling and they got a little (ticked) off. It wasn’t pretty early, but we’ll take it.”
Munster took control with a 10-0 run to lead 47-38 with 1:22 left in the third. With Andrean ahead 38-37, Fies delivered back-to-back baskets and Morris scored the final five points of the spurt. His contested jumper made it 51-40 after the third, another quarter where he scored 10 points.
“(Morris) was phenomenal,” Hackett said. “Part of the reason we had a slow start was he had a slow start. But when he gets rolling, he can be a handful.”
Zabrecky hit a 3-pointer to open the fourth and Tommy Maloney added a drive with 7:10 left to make it 56-40.
Munster’s conference title was the first of any kind for this group, and the Mustangs were particularly happy for Maloney, their lone senior.
“It’s amazing,” Morris said. “We had to get it for Tommy. That was our main goal. So congratulations to him.
“We got tired of losing to them (the 59ers). We just got mad and started playing. Enough was enough.”
Indeed, the Mustangs had lost three straight in the series, including 65-57 in overtime Dec. 28 when they squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter at the Highland Holiday Hoopfest. The 59ers won 82-60 last season and 77-60 in in 2016.
“If these guys were ever going to win anything, they knew they had to beat Andrean eventually,” Hackett said. “So (Friday) was nice. We got over the hump.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff