CEDAR LAKE, IN (2-9-2005) - Hope always springs eternal at a place like Hanover Central. That's part of its charm.

 After losing 12 of their first 15 games, consecutive victories over LaCrosse and Clark, the latter on 'Senior Night' in front of a happy mid-week crowd sent the Hanover portion of a crowd of about 300 people out into the snow with hope that the almost-completed season still has promise.

“We've finally got our team together at full strength,” said coach Dave Uran. “I think teams will look at us and think we're the same team we were early in the season.”

To beat a 3A school, even with Clark's record of 6-10, was a positive for the Wildcats, who have lost to 1A schools like North Newton and Lake Station. To put four seniors in double figures on 'Senior night' and to win back-to-back games for the first time in the season with two weeks to go, was all Hanover could hope for.

Facing a young Clark squad with no seniors in the lineup, Hanover stymied the visitors for three periods with their 3-2 zone and used a 10-1 run late in the second quarter to take a 30-23 lead.

In the third quarter, the Cats forced nine turnovers and turned a 32-29 edge into a 51-35 edge after three quarters before the tide turned.

Clark started the final period with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 51-44. A 12-6 run, based on the rebounding and inside scoring of 6-3 Pioneer freshman Mario Ramirez (23 points, nine rebounds) tied the game 61-61 with 1:31 left in the game.

The Pioneers, with a lineup of twin brothers Al and Mike Carpen, Ramirez and sophomore guard Ricardo Villa and outside shooter David Hornyak poured on 27 fourth quarter points but Clark was only 1-of-4 from the line in the final minute when they could have taken the lead. Mike Carpen missed two foul shots with 37 seconds left and Al Carpen split two free throws with 12 seconds left.

Jacob Rush's two foul shots made it 65-62 with 11 seconds left to give senior Hornyak, who sank three three-point goals, a chance.

The 5-11 forward missed a 25-foot shot with two seconds to go that would have tied the game.

“We kind of helped them get started when they got that seven point play,” said Uran. “Once they got started, they were moving a lot quicker and playing a lot more confidently.”

HC's Lary Pempek drew a terhcnical foul after he was called for contact on a layup by Clark's Mike Carpen. The basket, foul and two technical free trows cut into a 51-37 lead and when Clark was then given possession of the ball and Ramirez scored on a pass from Mike Carpen, the seven points in 20 seconds time had closed the gap to 51-44.

But on senior night, Shroka (16 points), Jeremy Petersen (14), 6-2 Jacob Rush (13) and 6-4 Eric Gross (13) all made big scoreboard contributions in their final game in front of the home crowd.

This group will leave with one distinction. Two years ago, Hanover beat 3A schools Clark, Gavit and Kankakee Valley in the same season but HC has never beaten a 3A and a 4A since class basketball was instituted in 1997. That doesn't sound like much, but the context is that HC was 0-20 four years ago.

“They did play hard tonight,” said Uran of his six seniors. “We got Jeremy back in the lineup tonight. Jacob has really come into his own. I wish he had another year. He's still growing. We played real well for most of the game. I'm not sure anybody wants to draw us right now.”

CAT NOTES:  HC's 1997 team beat Gavit, Griffith, Morton and Kankakee Valley, all of which are now 3A schools. Those were the days of the one class system. HC was 15-6 in 1997 and averaged 76 points a game, but they lost 46-45 to Lake Station in the opening game of the state tournament.

But before Hanover fans (or anybody else) starts longing for the old one class system, remember that from 1994-1996 Hanover was eliminated three consecutive years at the sectional level by Merrillville by scores of 79-62, 85-42 and 58-29. Results like that and the dismal crowds they drew actually brought on class basketball.

Hanover played Merrillville during the 1998 season and was annihilated 81-34. This was not the final game in the 1,500-seat Hanover gym which is scheduled to be replaced by a 2,500-seat structure that is being constructed immediately west of the present school. That new gym, which will sit in the outfield of what was the old HC baseball field, is not scheduled to be ready by the time the basketball season opens in November, according to athletic director Dave Seils. There is still haggling going on over the final design and color scheme of the new gym.

The present Hanover gym will remain in use, largely for junior high teams and the freshman squad. HC basketball teams have traditionally suffered greatly for lack of gym space. Both high school and junior high practice in the two gyms (there is a small auxiliary gym in the southwest corner of the school. When Hanover Central was constructed in the late 1960s, there was no girls basketball and, little has been added from then until this present renovation.

Hanover wants to upgrade their boys basketball schedule. Since the Wildcats play some 1A teams in the Porter County Conference (PCC), they would like to play some larger and more wide-ranging schools on their non conference schedule.

Perhaps spurred on by HC's victories over 3A Clark and 4A Lowell, this season. There is talk of traveling to play at 3A Twin Lakes or inviting a small 3A school like Wirt to come south out of Gary to play in the new Hanover gym.

“That's why Boone Grove plays those four Duneland Conference schools on their schedule,” said assistant coach Mike Holobawski. “They know they're going to lose those games but that makes them stronger against the PCC schools.”

Head coach Dave Uran agreed, “When we played Hammond high earlier this year and then we played Lowell, the boys were talking about how Lowell didn't seem fast at all.”

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HANOVER CENTRAL (8-7)

Coach: Dave Uran, 28-34 in 3rd year at school

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT / TIME	OA 53.4, DA 60.2
Nov. 23	at Lake Station {2A}	W   56-  53
Nov. 27	at South Newton {1A}	L   59-  61
Dec. 3	Hebron {1A}‡	L   48-  64
Dec. 10	at Washington Twp. {1A}‡	L   46-  58
Dec. 17	at South Central (Union Mills) {1A}‡	L   50-  54
Dec. 28	at Wheeler {2A}	L   44-  62	tournament
Dec. 29	(n)Hammond {3A}	L   53-  81	tournament
Dec. 30	Lowell {4A}	W   43-  29
Jan. 4	at Whiting {1A}	L   33-  47
Jan. 7	Boone Grove {2A}‡	L   53-  60
Jan. 11	at Beecher (Ill.)	L   65-  75
Jan. 13	Hammond Gavit {3A}	L   61-  75
Jan. 19	(n)Morgan Twp. {1A}	L   44-  48	tournament
Jan. 28	Morgan Twp. {1A}‡	W   70-  63
Jan. 29	at North Newton {2A}	L   62-  73
Feb. 4	LaCrosse {1A}‡	W   53-  51
Feb. 9	Hammond Clark {3A}	W   65-  62
Feb. 18	at Kouts {1A}‡	L   57-  67
Feb. 25	at River Forest {1A}	7:30 pm
‡PORTER COUNTY CONFERENCE GAME

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Revised: February 22, 2005 .