Hanover falls to Kouts in PCC Championship game, 67-50

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
03-14-2010

HANOVER (8-7) Luis Norman 1-0-2, Derek De St. Jean 5-2-12, Zach Rush 4-2-10, Nick Bollenbacher 5-6-16, Cam Brady 1-0-2, Max Johnson 3-0-6, Evan Garthus 1-0-2, Jeremy Pedersoli 0-0-0. TOTALS: TOTALS: 20 (10-11) 50.

KOUTS (67) Connor Van Dyke 7-4-18, Andy Lovall 4-4-12, Nick Taylor 5-3-13, Matt Morgart 2-0-4, Stephen Keller 1-0-3, Mat Bradley 4-0-11, Matt Stewart 2-0-4, Tyler Ball 0-0-0. TOTALS: 25 (11-16) 67.

FREE THROWS: HANOVER (10-11, 90.9%) , De St. Jean 2-2, Bollenbacher 6-6, Rush 2-2, Garthus 0-1; KOUTS (11-16, 68.7%) 4-5. Van Dyke 4-8, Taylor 3-3.

REBOUNDS: HANOVER (16) Johnson 5, De St. Jean 4, Brady 3, Bollenbacher 4, KOUTS (25) VanDyke 14, Lovall 5, Stewart 2, Morgart 2, Keller, Taylor.

ASSISTS: HANOVER (8) Rush 3, Bollenbacher 2, Johnson 2, Norman; KOUTS (8) VanDyke 4, Bradley 2, Morgart, Stewart.

STEALS: HANOVER (6) De St. Jean 2, Rush 2, Brady, Johnson; KOUTS (4) Lovall 2, Van Dyke. Mogart.

FOULED OUT: HANOVER (1) Max Johnson (4th Q) 2;25 left

3-POINT GOALS: HANOVER (0): KOUTS (6) Matt Bradley 3, Nick Taylor 2, Stephen Keller.

HANOVER (8-7) Luis Norman 1-2-4, Derek De St. Jean 7-0-14, Zach Rush 6-8-24, Nick Bollenbacher 5-5-15, Cam Brady 2-1-6. Max Johnson 2-2-8, Evan Garthus 1-0-2, Jeremy Pedersoli 0-0-0. TOTALS: TOTALS: 24 (18-30) 73.

HEBRON (66) Jay Patz 1-7-9, Matt McJunkin 6-2-17, Damon Wallace 5-13-25, Cody Artuso 4-2-10, Tyler Crouch 1-0-2, Trey Biggs 1-0-3, Trevor Lewin 0-0-00, Alex Shrum 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18 (24-37).

FREE THROWS: HC (18-30, 55.2%) Rush 8-8. Bollenbacher 5-9, De St. Jean 0-1, Brady 1-4, Johnson 2-4, Norman 2-4;
HEBRON (23-37, 62.1%) Patz 7-8, McJunkin 2-7, Wallace 13-16, Artuso 2-6..

FOULED OUT: HC (2) Zach Rush (OT) :24 left, Max Johnson (OT) 3:30 left; HEBRON (2) Jay Patz (OT) :58 left, Tyler Crouch (4th Q) 2:45 left.

3-GOALS: HEBRON (6) Matt McJunkin 3, Damon Wallace 2, Trey Biggs; HANOVER (7) Zach Rush 4, Max Johnson 2, Cam Brady.

PORTER TOWNSHIP, IN (01-22-2011) It would have been a nice story if Hanover Central had overcome seemingly insurmountable leads twice in one day to win the 2011 Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament and create an encore to their spectacular triumph in the 2010 PCC tourney.

But Kouts had a little to say about that. The Mustangs paired an impressive 68-52 win over arch-rival Morgan Township in the semifinals with a 67-50 win over Hanover in the finals of the 89th PCC tournament late Saturday at Boone Grove. It was almost anticlimactic as Kouts slowly pulled away in the second half, using superior height and manpower to take the title from the defending champs.

"I was very happy with how we played," said 28-year Kouts coach Marty Gaff, who won his sixth PCC title. "All three of our seniors (guards Matt Bradley, Andy Lovall and 6-foot-5 forward Conor VanDyke) responded the way you'd want them to in a big game. They were doing what we wanted on the pick-and-roll so they couldn't get those good looks for their guards."

Kouts held HC guards Zach Rush (12) and Nick Bollenbacher (16) to just 26 points, a total far short of the 44 those two scored in last season's 60-58 Hanover win over South Central in the 2010 PCC title game at Hebron.

The key appeared to be how Kouts handled the pick-and-roll, a basic means by which HC opens up the game for its shooters. When Hanover would pass the ball inside to senior center Derek De St. Jean, he would give it to the very quick Rush or Bollenbacher cutting in front of him. When that occurred, both defenders involved would follow the guard and let De. St. Jean drift towards the basket.

When HC could return the ball to De St. Jean, he could do enough damage on jump shots against Kouts help defenders coming from the other side of the lane. Kouts didn't shut down HC with this formula but they did limit them.

"We were really concerned about their good guards," Gaff said.

Another factor in the Kouts win was that Hanover seemed worn out after the 14-point fourth quarter comeback earlier in the day against Hebron in the semifinals.

"I thought both sides looked tired," said Gaff. "To be honest with you, our kids got back to Kouts at 3 p.m. and we had to be back to the (Boone) gym by 6 p.m. Three hours of rest but with this on the line, everybody wanted it really bad."

A strong fan crowd from the south end of Porter County saw the tiny 250-teen school (from a town of 2000) win their 10th PCC title. The better team won, but Hanover would have liked to play Kouts as the only game of the day. Rush played with a brace on his knee that he has worn all year due to a preseason injury. Bollenbacher, the son of coach Rod Bollenbacher, has a foot problem that he must go with the rest of the season. HC was tired at halftime, but clearly didn't have a lot left at the end of the game.

"Those kids played their heart out today," said coach Bollenbacher. "We just didn't have enough at the end of the day. "We shot under 50-percent. We've got to make some shots. We had to finish. It's just tough when your top two guards are hurting."

Hanover led 12-9 scoring six points in a row late in the first quarter. But Kouts, led the 6-foot-5 VanDyke, but more a 'big guard' than anything else, pushed the Mustangs ahead 19-14 with 4:04 left before halftime. In the third quarter, leading just 25-24, Kouts got a three-point shot from reserve Stephen Keller to start a 9-4 run that edged the lead out to 34-28 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.

Hanover could not find the range from the field, but Kouts' shooting was faulty, too, probably all due to fatigue. Leading 46-40 with 5:20 to go, sophomore Nick Taylor hit back-to-back shots for five points and a 51-40 lead. HC, which faced a significant height disadvantage with VanDyke and 6-foot-7 freshman Matt Stewart close to the basket, did not come within nine points after that.

"It's tough," said the coach. "Two kids with good hearts. They tried. We were massaging him (Nick Bollenbacher's knee) the whole time and they've got ice on it now. They gave it all they had."

The final minutes were a celebration for Kouts because HC could not make a field goal as the lead swelled from 57-48 with 2:54 to go to the final 17-point margin. Even though Kouts played the second semifinal game, they weren't pressed in the final minutes.

The Wildcats were well aware of the fact that their school has never won back-to-back PCC titles. But coach Bollenbacher tried to take something out of the long weekend even though his side did not take home the big, gold PCC ball, emblematic of league supremacy.

"When I first took over, we won the first (PCC tournament) game and they told me that was the first win in about eight years," he said. "We're trying to build tradition here, but we just fell short today."

PCC NOTES: The trouble with playing two games in one day is that the best games are often the semifinals. Lost in the defeat in the title game was Hanover's miraculous rally in the 73-66 overtime semifinal victory over Hebron, one of the greatest all time rallies in the recent history of the PCC tournament. Hanover trailed 56-42 with 3:11 left in the game before a 17-3 run tied the game on a three-point shot by sophomore Max Johnson at the buzzer.

"For 3-1/2 quarters," said coach Rod Bollenbacher, "we did about everything wrong. We were a step slow. But we came back. I don't know how."

"That final play was set for Zach (Rush). Max passed the ball in bounds and they (the defense) left him to double team Zach. He's hit a lot of shots like that. Pretty good for a sophomore."

It was the second time this season that HC had come from 14 points behind against Hebron to win. HC actually trailed 22-5 on Dec. 3 before rallying to win over the Hawks 59-58. Hanover's senior swing man Louis Norman was not hurt in the tournament, but he'd just returned to the Hanover lineup and played short minutes.

"Louie hadn't practiced in about a week," said Bollenbacher. "He had an eye infection and he couldn't see. So we had three guys who were not at full strength. What are you going to do?"

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