Hanover Central overcomes BG 60-58 in OT, edges determined South Central 62-60 in PCC Championship

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
02-01-2010

HANOVER (60)  Aaron Jackson 5-1-11, Luis Norman 3-0-6, Zach Rush 3-4-11, Derek De St. Jean 6-0-12, Nick Bollenbacher 6-1-16, Ryan Mitchell 2-0-4, Billy McQuade 0-0-0, Cameryn Brady 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  25 (6-10) 60.

BOONE (58) Wayland Roach 7-0-14, Jacob Wright 1-0-2, Michael Eleftheri 4-3-13, Danny Block 2-1-5, Ryan Reynolds 6-2-14, Greg Wilkins 2-2-8, Bobby Rapley 0-2-2. TOTALS: 22 (10-13)?58.

FREE THROWS: HANOVER: (6-10, 60%) Rush 4-6, Bollenbacher 1-3, Jackson 1-1; BOONE (9-12, 75%) Eleftheri 2-2, Block 1-2, Reynolds 2-2, Wilkins 2-2, Rapley 2-4.

REBOUNDS: HANOVER (26) De. St, Jean 10, Jackson 6, Norman 3, Rush 4, Bollenbacher 2, Cameryn Brady. BOONE (32) Block 11, Reynolds 10, Wilkins 2, Roach 5, Wright 3, Eleftheri

ASSISTS: HANOVER (9) Bollenbacher 5, Rush, De St.. Jean, Mitchell, McQuade. BOONE (10) Reynolds 3, Wright 3, Eleftheri 2, Block, Roach

STEALS: HANOVER (7) Bollenbacher 4, Rush 2, DeSt. Jean; BOONE (5) Wright 2, Roach, Eleftheri 2.

BLOCKED SHOTS: HANOVER (3) Luis Norman, Ryan Mitchell, Nick Bollenbacher; BOONE (5) Ryan Reynolds 3, Jacob Wright 2,

3-GOALS: HANOVER (4) Nick Bollenbacher 3, Zach Rush; BOONE (4) Michael Eleftheri 2, Greg Wilkins 2.

HANOVER CENTRAL (62)  Aaron Jackson 2-4-8, Luis Norman 2-0-4, Zach Rush 9-8-30, Derek De St. Jean 3-0-6, Nick Bollenbacher 2-9-14, Ryan Mitchell 0-0-0, Billy McQuade 0-0-0, Cameryn Brady 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  18 (21-23) 62.

SOUTH CENTRAL (60)  Eric Baum 8-0-20, Jake Kitchell 12-11-35, Greg Girardi 1-0-2, Alex Clemons 0-2-2, Ricky Rigsby 0-1-1, Sam Konieczny 0-0-0, Ben Rosenbaum 0-0-0, Matt Walker 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  21 (14-22) 60.

FREE THROWS:  HANOVER: (21-23, 91.3%) Rush 8-8, Bollenbacher 9-9, Jackson 4-5, De St. Jean 0-1; , Bollenbacher 1-3, Jackson 1-1; SOUTH CENTRAL (14-22, 63.6%) Kitchell 11-16, Clemons 2-4, Rigsby 1-2.

REBOUNDS:  HANOVER (19) De. St. Jean 4, Jackson 7, Norman 3, Rush 2, Bollenbacher , McQuade, Mitchell; SOUTH CENTRAL (26) Kitchell 17, Baum 4, Rigsby 3, Konieczny, Clemons.

ASSISTS:  HANOVER (5) Bollenbacher 2, Norman 2, De St.. Jean, Mitchell, McQuade. SOUTH CENTRAL (9) Kitchell 5, Baum 2, Konieczny 2.

STEALS:  HANOVER (9) Bollenbacher 4, Rush 3, Jackson 2, SOUTH CENTRAL (4) Baum, Kitchell, Girardi, Konieczny.

BLOCKED SHOTS:  HANOVER (0) SOUTH CENTRAL (3) Jake Kitchell 3.

3-GOALS: HANOVER (5) Zach Rush 4, Nick Bollenbacher; SOUTH CENTRAL (4) Eric Baum 4.

FOULED OUT:  HC (1) Louis Norman (4th Q) 247 left.

TECHNICAL FOULS:  HC (2) Nick Bollenbacher (3rd Q) 4:31 left; HC bench (3rd Q) 4:08 left; SOUTH CENTRAL (1) Alex Clemons (3rd Q) 4:31 left.

PCC Bpys Tournament Photo Gallery

HEBRON, IN (01-23-2010)  In sports, when you pass a milestone, you want everybody to remember it.  Everyone who was in the Hebron gym Saturday afternoon or again Saturday night will remember the Wildcats.  As the sun rose high in the sky, Hanover Central got the school's first varsity boys basketball win over Boone Grove in 16 years, a 2 1/2 hour, two overtime 60-58 classic.

And after the sun set, the Wildcats won their first Porter County Conference (PCC) championship in 23 years with another spectacular come-from-behind 62-60 win over defending PCC champion South Central in front if a capacity crowd in the Hebron gym.

I do not know of a Northwest Indiana basketball team that, in one day has ended so many long-standing droughts, lifted the profile of their program and carried a league championship trophy back home.

"I don't think you can put into words what this means to our programs and our community," said coach Rod Bollenbacher in the midst of a 100% pure post-game celebration on the Hebron court.

"We wanted to change the perception of our program.  We wanted to change the mind set.  These boys worked hard and they did it.  Even when we were down seven or eight, all the boys kept saying 'We're going to come back and win this.'  In the past, these are games we'd have lost."

"We're all very proud of each other," said Zach Rush, who hit the game winning three-point shot at the buzzer against Boone and scored 30 points including two free throws with seven second remaining to top South Central.  "I watched my older brothers lose at this tournament a lot of times.  This one is for all of them, too."

My mom and dad both graduated from Hanover," said Aaron Jackson, whose mid-court steal from 6-foot-9 all-stater Jake Kitchell helped keep South Central from pulling away in the middle of the fourth quarter.  "My brother.  He's here.  My whole family went to Hanover.  I know all the years we've lost to Boone.  All the years we've lost here.  And it's all over."

"These two games in one day," said sophomore Nick Bollenbacher, whose three-point shot in the final second of the fourth quarter tied the Boone game. "It's almost too much for one day."

Hanover won despite 35 points and 17 rebounds from Kitchell, who seemingly couldn't be stopped.  South Central led 30-17 in the second quarter and 58-53 with 3:08 to play.  The Wildcats had played the double-overtime game earlier while SC got past host Hebron 58-48 in a game where Kitchell sat more than half the time due to fouls.

But Hanover (12-1) rallied in front of hundreds of fans who made the trip from Cedar Lake.  Rush, the 5-foot-10 junior hit a three-point shot to cut the lead to two at 58-56.  Kitchell scored for a four-point lead, but after a controversial offensive foul called against 6-foot-5 SC senior Eric Baum, Rush sank two foul shots to make the score 60-58 with 1:51 left.

As SC was tying to stall, Rush and Jackson trapped Kitchell and forced a jump ball with the alternating possession going to the Wildcats.

Derek De St. Jean hit a short shot to tie the game with 45 seconds to play and in another play that was debated afterwards, Kitchell was called for a moving screen, giving the ball back to Hanover with 16 seconds to go.

As the clock ran down, HC's Rush was maintaining his dribble near the timeline, trying a crossover move in front of defender Ricky Rigsby, who was able to turn Rush back towards mid-court.  The SC junior then dived to steal the ball or, at least, knock it into the back court which would have run Hanover out of time for a game-tying shot.  Rigsby undercut Rush, knocking him down and forcing a call, which was a foul on Rigsby.  Rush's two foul shots gave HC the lead and Rush stole the ball to seal the win.

"He's the guy we want with the ball in his hands," said coach Bollenbacher, who watched his team win its school-record 12th game in a row.  "He's not a senior but he's the leader.  He wasn't happy after the (quarterfinal) game Wednesday and the game this morning.  He wants the ball."

"I saw two guys going for the ball," said Steinhilber, who thought there should have been no call on the play.  But he (Rush) hit the shots.  He hit big shots.  This is good for us.  We're 1A.  They're 2A.  It's all good for us and it was a great game."

Rush, who had to be cautioned by the referees not to gesture to the crowd so much after positive Hanover plays, is a very animated player who fires up the crowd both for and against the Wildcats.

"I know it seems like I'm leading the team sometimes," Rush said.  "But it's really all of us.  Everyone's doing their part and that's why we're winning.  This day was for our seniors.  This was all for them today."

The second game was spectacular and dramatic, but it paled in comparison to the opener, which might have been one of the best games played in this region in the last four or five years.

Boone and Hanover had not met during the regular season (they had a game postponed to Feb .2 ) and Boone had defeated HC 19 times in a row; a fact that everyone in the HC program was only too aware of.  Both sides seemed on their way to victory.  Both sides lost significant leads and had to fight back.  And both sides thought they should have won.

After a hard fought 15-15 first quarter, Hanover harassed Boone into some turnovers to take a 10-point halftime lead.  Boone began to press half court and rallied, taking the lead at 41-39 with 5:53 to play.  Boone was up 49-46 on two free throws by guard Michael Eleftheri with 17 seconds left, but Bollenbacher hit a 3-point shot off the right wing at the buzzer to tie the game 49-49.

In the first overtime, leading 54-52, HC's Luis Norman stole the ball and it appeared that the Cats would win.  But Rush missed a one-and-one with 21 seconds left and Boone's Danny Block tied the game on a follow shot with three seconds to go.

In the 2nd OT, Bollenbacher missed a one-and-one with 1:16 left and HC ahead 57-56.  Boone ran a play that found Bobby Rapley, who was fouled with 26 seconds left.  Rapley hit both shots and the Wildcats called time out.

In the final seconds, with Bollenbacher covered, Boone missed a switch defensively and Rush got a three-point shot away from the left wing in front of the HC bench.  The perfect shot.

"I thought it was good all the way.  It just felt good," Zach said later.  The win gave Hanover Central its first PCC championship since Terry Strawbridge coached HC to the title in 1987, a squad that included former HC coach and present Crown Point mayor Dave Uran.

But Boone played well enough to win, even though the Wolves were down 32-22 at the break.  Boone's all-senior lineup held Hanover to just 17 second half points and the Wolves would have won if they'd made a few more shots inside five feet from the basket.

"You've got to give them credit," said Boone coach Matt McKay, whose team has lost twice in overtime this season.

"Their guys hit two big shots at the end of regulation and at the end of the game.  We lost the game in the first half when we fell behind by 10.  But they played well.  I'm sure this is the biggest win Rod (Bollenbacher) has had so far."

Nick Bollenbacher's game-tying shot looked awkward, but he said it wasn't to him.

"People told me it looked like I was leaning to the right, but it felt really good when I shot it," Nick said later. "I felt like I was straight up.  I felt everything was right.  I really want to watch the tape."

The tapes of these games will be priceless at Hanover.  It's a shame this final day was not on local TV.  When Rush's shot beat Boone, the HC Players took the 'Keg' and walked over to the student section, holding it above their heads.  When HC defeated South Central, the cheerleaders rushed the floor to celebrate with the boys, in a scene common to most Indiana basketball programs but unheard of at Hanover games.

"It was a great Indiana basketball game," repeated Steinhilber."

And oddly, because of how good Boone has been and how tough South Central was, Saturday became the biggest day ever for Hanover Central.

PCC NOTES:  Boone Grove and Hanover Central meet again on Feb. 2 in a make-up game that will decide who finishes first in the Porter County Conference (PCC) regular season standings.  The Wildcats last defeated Boone 16 years ago, 61-48 on Jan. 7, 1994.

That's not as big as the PCC tournament to most, but it may be a chance (if HC does not lose at Morgan Township on Jan. 29) to regain the 'Kup' the league's traveling trophy, a prized possession that the holder paints in school colors and sits at mid court before every game.

Boone's Michael Eleftheri was the PCC Mental Attitude Award winner, which completes a life cycle.  Michael's mom Linda Eleftheri was formerly the school's girls basketball coach and won three PCC titles in 1989, 1993 and 1996.  Linda (Radivan) Eleftheri coached Boone Grove basketball for 10 seasons.

"He has no memory of that," smiled Mrs. Eleftheri posing with her son for pictures Saturday night.  "He was around for the last one but he doesn't remember it.  Actually he's the reason I stopped coaching basketball."

Boone and Hanover Central could also meet in 2A regional play in March, but that seems a long way off because 2A Sectional 33 includes Hanover (12-1), Wheeler (13-1) and Bishop Noll (10-2).  The favorite there is probably the team that gets a favorable draw (it's a 5-team sectional) and doesn't have to play both of the other two contenders.

Let the record show that Wheeler has defeated Hanover 15 times in a row going back 11 years.

When you talk about long term state tourney possibilities, Hanover and Boone both operate with little margin for errors personnel-wise.  Boone Grove regularly uses only seven players while Hanover only consistently plays eight boys.  One key factor in Saturday's two overtime semifinal was that the game was called loosely.  A lot of contact was allowed.  The upside to that was that no one fouled out and the players decided the game at full strength.

South Central is in the sectional with Class 1A No. 2 Triton.

"They're just as good as Hanover is," said South Central coach John Steinhilber.

Nick Bollenbacher never considered that Boone might foul him with the clock running down under five seconds and the score 49-46 for Boone in the fourth quarter of the morning semifinal.

"I never really thought abut that," he said.  "I don't think they did.  I had Wayland Roach and a couple of other guys on me."