PORTER TOWNSHIP | As the clock wound down in their team’s win over Wheeler, the Boone Grove students chanted, “Just like football.”
The result was the same, a Boone Grove win in each sport, but the win was much harder for the Wolves to come by in boys basketball.
The Wolves got 21 of their final 22 points from Jon Hogg, Dean Hill and Daniel Malouhos and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 57-48 win over the Bearcats on Friday night.
“We got some interior baskets and we tried to get out and run, which we were able to do,” Boone Grove coach Matt McKay said.
Boone Grove (9-6) opened the second half on a 9-2 run to turn a tie game at halftime into a 35-28 advantage with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
Hogg, who finished with a game-high 15 points, had a pair of baskets during the run sandwiched by five points from Jake Clapp.
The Bearcats (8-7) could get no closer than four the rest of the way, and a 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter built the lead to its largest at 51-38.
Malouhos, who was 7-of-10 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, had five points in the run, and Hill had a steal at midcourt and took it all the way for a layup.
Malouhos finished with 14 points.
Hill added 13 points and six rebounds.
“He sees the floor real well,” McKay said of Hill. “He handles the ball real well, makes pretty good decisions and can knock down shots.”
The Wolves shot 10-of-18 from the field in the second half and finished 20-of-38 for the game.
“They executed very well offensively,” Wheeler coach Tom Johnson said. “They are very good at what they do. My hat’s off to how well they executed, especially on the offensive end.”
Jeremy Truchan led Wheeler with 12 points.
Wheeler outscored Boone Grove 17-11 in the second quarter and used a 10-0 run to take a 26-22 lead. Hill sat most of the second quarter and Clapp missed the final four minutes, both with foul trouble.
“I had lineups out there that I had never had out there before,” McKay said. “We were trying to find points, so we were just hoping to keep it close.”
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