Hanover Central wins 77-70 in OT, season series over Hebron Hawks in PCC Quarterfinal
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

PCC quarterfinal - Thursday, Jan. 24, 2003  at Boone Grove

HEBRON (70)   Ryan Brindley 8-0-19, Drew Gericke 2-2-7, Ryan Ragland 9-5-23,  Dave Bormann 1-3-5, Paul Blank 2-3-7, Danny Mann 4-1-9, Mike Draze 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 26-14- 70.

FTS: 14-27, 51 8%  (Ryan Ragland 5-8, Paul Blank 3-5, Drew Gericke 2-2, Danny Mann 1-6)
BLOCKED SHOTS - Ryan Ragland - 5
ASSISTS: Drew Gericke - 7
REBOUNDS: Ryan Ragland - 12
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (4) Ryan Brindley 3, Drew Gericke

HANOVER CENTRAL (76)  Brandon Hegg 5-1-11, Jeff Johnson 10-0-27, Jon Radosevich 1-2-4, Eddie Roberts 4-0-8, Greg Shroka 1-0-2, Aleks Case 2-3-8  Doug Bilinski 0-0-0, Owen Goff 5-2-12, Adam Suarez 1-3-5, Matt Jackson 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 29-11-76
FTS: 11-17, 64.7 percent  (Aleks Case 3-4, Adam Suarez 3-4, Jon Radosevich 2-2, Owen Goff 2-2, Brandon Hegg 1-2, Eddie Roberts 0-3)
ASSISTS: Brandon Hegg - 5, Owen Goff 4
REBOUNDS: Aleks Case - 7, Brandon Hegg 7, Eddie Roberts - 6.
STEALS: Brandon Hegg - 2
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (8) Jeff Johnson 7, Aleks Case.

PORTER TOWNSHIP (1-24-2003) - If this is a comeback season for Hanover Central, this was a major booster shot.

The Wildcats had won seven of their first 10 games but they'd been unimpressive in most games, scuffling for points and surviving their own ineptitude in many games with scores like 41-40, 45-42 and the earlier 48-40 win over Hebron.

Then they took the floor Thursday night in front of about 1,500 fans in the quarterfinals of the 80th Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament. Five quarters later, the Wildcats had a hard-fought 77-70 victory over the defending PCC champion Hawks.

"This was a big one," said Hanover assistant coach Dennis Pokropinski. "This one justifies all the work we've done."

Hanover worked hard and they were lucky on this night.  After trailing 15-7, leading 36-27 and then trailing again 66-64 with only eight seconds to play, the Cats, who were 0-20 just two years ago, got a signal from above that there's a new day dawning.

With Hebron covering up hot-shooting Jeff Johnson, the ball went to Hanover's 6-3 senior in the left corner. Aleks Case, who is not a three-point shooter, fired up an air ball off the left baseline.  Closing from the opposite side, 5-8 senior Jon Radosevich caught the ball in mid-air and banked it in, sending the game to overtime.

"It was a pass," joked HC coach Dave Uran, "Actually, we told Jon to go hide in the corner and close on the basket for the rebound.  We were going for the '3' to win the game.  They way we were shooting, a three was as likely as a two.  We knew they'd cover up Jeff but we did get a good shot."

"The life went out of us when they got that rebound," said Hebron coach Mike Defries. "We made a nice comeback in the second half but we'd expended all our energy. They (Hanover) have a lot of guys who are pretty much equal and they can shuffle them in and out."

This was a wonderfully spirited small school battle as both sides came equipped with loud and creative cheering sections which included virtually all of both schools' girl basketball players, who had battled it out in a 56-55 Hebron victory in a PCC girls quarterfinal game two nights earlier at Morgan Township.

Hanover began this game shooting very poorly and falling behind 15-7 and 20-14. But Jeff Johnson's first three point shot started a 22-7 run over the final 5:16 of the first half . Johnson, who hit 51 three-point shots last season but who has slumped this year, hit four second quarter three-pointers to help the Cedar Lake boys score 29 second quarter points, the most the Cats had scored in any quarter all season.

"He started hitting everything," said DeFries. "We had our best defensive player on him.  He hit some great shots."

At the top of the third quarter, Hebron (5-5) got a quick rally, sparked by two three-point baskets from 6-2 junior Ryan Brindley.  Senior Hawk star Ryan Ragland finally tied the game 46-46 with 1:57 left in the third quarter but Hanover  picked up the pace and got consecutive baskets from Brandon Hegg, Jeff Johnson, Owen Goff and Eddie Roberts to move to a 60-53 lead with 4:40 left in the final quarter.

Ragland, one the PCC's three low Division I prospects, scored nine consecutive Hawk points late in the final period and the 6-5 forward's steal and dunk tied the game 64-64 with 58 seconds left.

After Goff missed a short shot, Hebron's Drew Gericke drove the lane, was fouled and sank two free throws for a 66-64 Hawk lead, an edge that would be erased at the buzzer by Radosevich's uncontested rebound.

"We got beat on this floor in the sectional," remembers DeFries, "on a shot by (River Forest's) Angel Rosado. "that was the end of the year then.  I told the boys at least we have a chance to come back from this. Our sectional is pretty winnable."

Hebron never led in the four minute overtime as Johnson, a 6-1 guard, hit a three-pointer with 2:35 to play, starting a 7-0 run. Goff sank two free throws with 1:40 left and Case scored on a fast break layup with 1:08 to go.

Hanover Central sweeps the  season series with Hebron (they are in different state tournament classes) and advances to Saturday's semifinal with Morgan Township (6-5), a decisive 66-49 winner over Boone Grove in Thursday's first semifinal.

"They're hot right now," said Uran. "We can't let (6-3 junior Matty) Bush do what he did tonight," referring to Bush's 19 points and four assists.  He just broke down their defense."

Hanover is the longshot in Saturday's 11 a.m. PCC Final 4 which features Morgan, Class 2A No. 10 Wheeler (8-2) and Class 1A No. 1 Kouts (13-0).

Wheeler is formidable and features the state's leading scorer in Todd Staffer (30.9 PPG).  But the challenge of stopping Kouts, the PCC's all-time leading scorer and their 72 point per game offense, intrigues Ran.

"We could run with them," said Ran, who played on Hanover's last PPC champion in 1987. "We could run with them."


PCC NOTES: The finals of the 2003 PCC tournament will be tape delayed and shown Monday (Jan., 27) and Wednesday (Jan. 29) on AT & T. Channel 3.  The seven three-point baskets by Jeff Johnson may be a Hanover school record. The Hanover junior had 19 three-point goals in his previous 10 games.

The 77 points for Hanover was a season-high by a considerable margin. The Cats had not scored more than 62 points all year.

This is the first time Hanover has been five games over the . 500 mark since they were 9-4 on January of 2000. That Wildcat team finished below the .500 mark.

The 23 points represented Ryan Ragland's fifth 20-point game this season. Ragland (18.9 ppg.) has scored more than 10 points in every game this season. Ryan Brindley (15.8 in his last seven games) has 18 three -point goals in 10 games.

Senior Jeremy Spencer has left the Hanover squad leaving just four senioirs (Adam Miller, Aleks Case, Jon Radosevich and Eddie Roberts) on the HC roster. Earlier, senior Todd Szayni had left the team.

2003 HANOVER CENTRAL (8-3)
Coach Dave Uran (1st year)
PCC games in CAPS, Home games in bold
Start times are junior varsity starting times

11-26-2002:  60-34  at Lake Station (1-13)
11-29-2002:  49-38   Elmwood Park, Ill. (6-8)
12-6-2002:  49-38 vs. HEBRON (5-5)
12-13-2002:  52-61 at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP  (5-5)
12-21-2002:  59-45 at Kankakee Valley (2-9)
12-28-2002:  41-40 Gavit (0-12)
1-3-2003:  44-48 Lowell  (4-6)

1-7-2003:  62-56 Whiting (3-7)
1-10-2003:  54-58  BOONE GROVE (4-6)
1-14-2003:  45-42 at Beecher, IL (6-10)

Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament
1-23-2003:  77-70 (OT) Hebron (5-5)  quarterfinals
1-25-2003:  (S) Morgan Township (6-5) semifinals -  11 a.m.
1-25-2003:  (S) championship  -  6 p.m.

1-31-2003:  (F) MORGAN TOWNSHIP  (6 p.m.)
2-1-2003:  (Tu) at North Newton (6 p.m.)
2-4-2003:  (F) Clark  (6 p.m.)
2-7-2003:  (F) LaCROSSE  (6 p.m.)
2-13-2003:  (Th) at Wheeler (6 p.m.)
2-21-2003:  (F) at KOUTS (6 p.m.)
2-25-2003:  (Tu) Morton (6 p.m.)
2-28-2003:  (F) at River Forest (6 p.m.)

Wheeler (2A) Sectional
3-4-2003:  (Tu) Quarterfinals  (6 p.m.)
3-7-2003:  (F) Semifinals  (6 p.m.)
3-8-2003:  (S) Championship (7:30 p.m.)

Triton (2A) Regional
3-15-2003:  (S) Semifinals  (11 a.m.)
3-15-2003:  (S) Championship  (7 p.m.)

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Revised: July 10, 2004 .