When the State’s 3rd-ranked team comes calling, you’d like to be at full strength.

It may not have mattered, but the Chesterton Trojans put up a valiant fight Friday night in a 57-45 to Valparaiso.

“I thought our effort was good,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “We had guys sick and they really tried to just gut it out. Give credit to Valpo. They’re third in the State for a reason.”

The Trojans stayed right with the Vikings for three quarters and when Fred Price scored to start the fourth quarter, Chesterton had pulled to within 39-37.

But, Valparaiso’s Adam Butterfield and Derek Kennett got free on the perimeter and knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to start an 11-2 Viking run.

“I thought the difference was the back-to-back 3’s they made there to start the fourth quarter,” Peller said. “It was a two-point game there and we made a couple of mistakes. They have a lot of good ball players that shoot the ball well.”

The Trojans held the potent Valpo 3-point offense to just 6-of-15 shooting from behind the arc.

“I know it’s a loss, but there is something to take from it,” Peller said. “The quality of play was so much better than the first time. This is something we can build on.”

Price’s conventional three-point play with 1:32 to play cut the lead to 52-43, but the Trojans never got closer.

“When you get behind, they are such good passers that they can pick you apart,” Peller said. “That’s what happened there late in the game.”

Valparaiso built an early 12-3 lead and the Trojans trailed 17-13 after one period of play thanks to two Remy Lewis triples.

An 8-2 Chesterton run, finished off by a Price steal and layup put the Trojans on top 21-19 midway through the second quarter. Valpo scored five straight points for a 24-23 lead at the halftime break.

“We have to be more consistent in our play,” Peller said.

Valpo began to pull away with a late 3-pointer by Brad Karp and a basket by Jerrick Suiter before an Alec Houpt conventional three-point play pulled Chesterton within 39-35 with one quarter to play.

Price led the Trojans with 15 points, while Lewis added eight points. Houpt and Mitch McGary each added seven points in the loss.

Valparaiso (17-7-15-18)

Brad Karp 3-8 3-4 10, Andy Martin 2-3 1-2 5, Adam Butterfield 4-5 0-0 11, Derek Kennett 5-8 3-5 15, Jerrick Suiter 5-10 6-6 16, Mark Hofferth 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Hummel 0-0 0-0 0, Brent Hill 0-0 0-0 0, John Clymer 0-4 0-0 0, Rick Freeman 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 19-38 13-19 57.

Chesterton (13-10-12-10)

Remy Lewis 2-5 2-2 8, Fred Price 5-11 5-7 15, Scott Homner 2-7 1-2 6, Alec Houpt 3-3 1-1 7, Mitch McGary 3-13 1-2 7, KeMonte Price 1-3 0-0 2, Jon Watson 0-0 0-0 0, KJ Zelenika 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Sleicher 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-42 10-14 45.

3-point field goals: Valparaiso 6-17 (Karp 1-2, Butterfield 3-4, Kennett 2-4, Suiter 0-3, Clymer 0-4); Chesterton 3-12 (Lewis 2-4, F. Price 0-2, Homner 1-5, McGary 0-1). Rebounds: Valparaiso 29 (Suiter 8); Chesterton 22 (McGary 7). Steals: Valparaiso 6 (Karp 5); Chesterton 6 (Homner 3). Assists: Valparaiso 10 (Martin 5); Chesterton 7 (Lewis 2, F. Price 2, McGary 2).

Posted 2/8/2010