The Chesterton boys basketball team got outscored 15-2 in the third quarter and dropped a 56-42 Duneland Athletic Conference decision at Merrillville on Thursday night.

“Their size and quickness on the boards just wore us down,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “When we started missing shots, the better team came through. And tonight, they were the better team.”

The Trojans played the Pirates to 12-all after one period of play and built a 27-23 lead at the half behind the sharp-shooting of guard Scott Homner. Homner scored all of his team-high 13 points in the first half.

“Scotty really shot the ball well in the first half,” Peller said. ‘We hit five 3’s in that first half and it kept us in the game.”

Things changed in the third quarter as the Pirates utilized their size inside as the Trojans played without 6-foot-10 junior Mitch McGary who missed the game due to illness.

“Through the middle of the third quarter it was a good game,” Peller said. “The difference was the offensive boards. We just didn’t play as well after halftime.”

The Trojans hit just 6-of-20 (30 percent) shots from the field in the second half and were only 1-of-8 (13 percent) from 3-point range.

“We only got four points from our big guys inside,” Peller said. “We really had to rely heavily on the 3 and when they got out on us, we couldn’t knock any down.”

Remy Lewis also scored 13 points in the loss for the Trojans, while Fred Price had eight points.

Chesterton (12-15-2-13)

KeMonte Price 2-4 0-0 4, Remy Lewis 5-7 0-0 13, Zach Rochowiak 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Sleicher 0-2 0-0 0, Alec Houpt 2-5 0-0 4, Scott Homner 5-15 0-0 13, Jon Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Fred Price 3-10 2-4 8. Totals 17-45 2-4 42.

Merrillville (12-11-15-18)

B. Clark 2-6 0-0 5, Redmon 2-4 0-2 4, Jones 5-12 0-0 11, Spikes 6-10 0-3 12, Hogan 2-3 1-1 5, Dorsey 0-0 1-2 1, Fashawe 2-6 0-0 4, Seay 3-7 2-2 8, Simpson 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 25-51 4-10 56.

3-point field goals: Chesterton 6-19 (Lewis 3-5, Houpt 0-1, Homner 3-11, F. Price 0-2); Merrillville 2-8 (B. Clark 1-3, Jones 1-3, Spikes 0-1, Hogan 0-1). Rebounds: Chesterton 21 (Sleicher 4, Lewis 4); Merrillville 38 (Seay 11). Assists: Chesterton 7 (Homner 3); Merrillville 12 (B. Clark 5). Steals: Chesterton 5 (F. Price 2); Merrillville 8 (Spikes 3).