MICHIGAN CITY | The play wasn't developing the way it was planned, so Peter Psomadelis took matters into his own hands.
With time running out and no one to get the ball to, the Portage sophomore let fly with an 23-footer from just left of the key, and found nothing but the bottom of the net.
Michigan City's Keenan Simmons was well short on an off-balance 30-footer as time expired and the Indians (2-0, 1-0) got out of the Wolves Den on Friday with a 47-46 Duneland Athletic Conference stunner.
"Time was running down. Our two best shooters (Jordan Collazo and Jordan Simpson) were getting guarded. I had to take a chance," Psomadelis said of his only basket. "It's amazing. It's a great team win. Everybody did what they were supposed to do. We played great defense. It feels great. We finally broke the (conference) losing streak."
The Indians hadn't won a DAC game since Feb. 22, 2011 against LaPorte, a span of 15 games. They hadn't posted back-to-back victories since Jan. 21, 2011.
"It's a huge win for our kids," coach Rick Snodgrass said. "I'm really proud of 'em."
A winning three was a fitting finish for Portage, which was a ridiculous 11 of 21 from the arc. Simpson, a sophomore, had six triples, including four in the second quarter. Collazo, also a sophomore, had three, two of them coming in the fourth quarter with Portage trailing after a 9-0 City run put the Indians down six.
"We knew there were three things we had to do," Snodgrass said. "We had to rebound and I thought we did a very good job. We had to knock down open shots and, for the most part, we did. We knew they were going to make runs, so we had to execute when it counted, and we made key plays at the right time."
City (1-1, 0-1), with a trio that stands 6-foot-5, 6-6, 6-6, dominated inside for short stretches, but largely struggled against a Portage zone, which the Indians, with no one over 6-3, played almost exclusively. The Wolves shot just 7 of 24 in the first half.
"They're such an athletic team," Snodgrass said. "They had the matchups advantage if we went man to man, so we went zone. We kept telling the kids we have to be patient, not just on offense, but on defense."
Simpson led all scorers with 18, followed by Collazo's 11. Lacy Johnson topped M.C. with 10.
"This is great, but we've got to keep it up," Psomadelis said. "We can't let up."
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