EAST CHICAGO | If you heard a bell clanking on Saturday night in East Chicago, it wasn't a fire alarm.
It was a school bell and the gong was in the hand of the Munster Mustangs.
“We worked real hard all week on our defense,” Munster senior Michael Schlotman said. “This is still a very big game. We want to keep the streak going.”
Times No. 3 Munster beat the host Cardinals 47-29, the Mustangs' seventh straight win over E.C. And the score was worse than it appeared. The Cardinals (2-2) scored the last nine points of the game.
“It was nice to see the carry over from the practice,” Munster coach Mike Hackett said of his team's 1-2-2 hybrid zone that choked the breath out of the Cardinals offense.
“We wanted to keep the East Chicago kids in front of us and keep them out of the gaps,” Hackett continued. “Our kids worked hard on that all week and they did a nice job.”
Times No. 10 E.C. shot 11-of-43 from the field for the game. The Cards also had 13 turnovers and seemed frustrated all Saturday night that the offense could not get into any rhythm.
“We had open shots,” Cardinals coach Abe Brown said. “We kept telling guys to shoot. But they'd kick it to someone else. When we did shoot our kids were hesitant. Like they didn't think they would make it.”
Munster jumped out to a 27-16 lead at halftime and the 3-point shot was a big part of the equation. The Mustangs, winners of seven straight against the Cards, went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Schlotman went 2-for-2 and had 13 points and finished the game with that number. Nate Bubash scored eight straight in the third quarter that blew the game open. Munster's center also scored 13 in the win.
Munster played a game-crawling 1-2-2 zone, which slowed E.C.'s halfcourt offense. It looked like an elephant with a piano on its back. The Cards were 6-of-24 from the field in the first half and 1-for-8 from beyond the 3-point line.
“I tried to come out aggressive,” Schlotman said of his offense. “I wanted to lead.”
E.C.'s Hyron Edwards led the way with 11 points.
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