Offensive balance and a tough zone defense were the formula.

The Chesterton boys basketball team overcame a slow start and cruised to a 67-56 Duneland Athletic Conference victory over Crown Point Friday night.

“I thought our 2-3 zone caused them some trouble and turned the tide in our favor,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “We hit some 3’s and had good balance on offense. I thought those were both important factors for us tonight.”

Crown Point jumped on top 7-0 from the start as the Trojans turned the ball over three times and only got one shot attempt in their first four possessions.

“We came out like we weren’t ready to play and Crown Point jumped us,” Peller said. “Fortunately, we were able to get it back before it got out of hand.”

Five points from Chris Palombizio and a basket by Brandon Roeske pulled Chesterton within 9-7 and then a 7-0 run that included five points from Matt Holba pushed the Trojans to the lead 17-15 after one quarter.

Trailing 29-22 with 5:18 left in the first half, CHS pulled away with a 21-4 run that put them on top 43-33 at the break.

“We got a lot of deflections and they didn’t make many shots,” Peller said. “I think the zone might be our best defense right now. We’ll keep switching and trying to keep teams off balance, but we seem to be active and rebounding well in it.”

That defensive dominance continued into the third quarter where the Trojans held the Bulldogs to just 1-of-11 shooting and only three points as the lead grew to 56-39.

Palombizio led the offense with 14 points, while Jacob Andert added 13. Holba and Corey Rusboldt each scored 10 points as the Trojans placed four players in double figures.

“I thought Andert played great tonight,” Peller said. “Our movement on offense with our screening and cutting was better. Our shot selection was good tonight. We played for the good shot instead of just settling for the first shot.”

The Trojans hit on 23-of-47 shots (49 percent) from the field and outrebounded the Bulldogs 31-29.

Crown Point (15-18-3-17)

Alex Nickla 1-2 0-0 2, Tom Bardeson 5-15 3-3 15, Zach Plesac 2-7 0-0 5, Nick Jeffirs 6-13 3-4 15, Bret Barclay 2-6 0-0 4, PJ Phelps 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Burkholder 0-1 0-0 0, Braxton Rice 1-3 1-2 4, Nick Hanlon 1-1 0-0 2, Josh Berquist 1-2 4-4 6, Rade Kukobat 0-0 0-0 0, Zack Lambert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 11-13 56.

Chesterton (17-26-13-11)

Matt Holba 3-6 4-4 10, Chris Palombizio 4-10 6-8 14, Cole Teal 3-5 1-4 8, Corey Rusboldt 3-6 2-2 10, Brandon Roeske 1-3 2-2 4, Avery Beeks 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Thanos 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Ralph 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Andert 5-7 1-4 13, Donnie Johnson 2-4 0-4 4, Jacob Wasielewski 1-3 0-0 2, Tevin Dilosa 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-47 16-28 67.

3-point field goals: Crown Point 4-15 (Bardeson 2-8, Plesac 1-3, Barclay 0-2, Rice 1-1, Berquist 0-1); Chesterton 5-10 (Palombizio 0-2, Teal 1-1, Rusboldt 2-3, Andert 2-3, Johnson 0-1). Rebounds: Crown Point 29 (Jeffirs 7); Chesterton 31 (Palombizio 7). Assists: Crown Point 10 (Bardeson 5); Chesterton 8 (Holba 2, Teal 2, Andert 2). Steals: Crown Point 1 (Plesac 1); Chesterton 6 (Rusboldt 3).

The Chesterton boys junior varsity basketball team fell to 3-6 on the year with a 36-33 loss to Crown Point on Saturday morning.

Steffan Dines led the Trojans with 16 points and four rebounds. Jordan Dilosa tallied seven points (5 rebounds), while Rhyss Lewis had three points (3 assists).

Posted 1/7/2013