Quietly effective
Josh Davis’ layup and free throw a spark as Munster tops LaPorte
It was a quiet first half Friday night for Munster junior Josh Davis.
The 6-foot-1 guard had just five points in the first two quarters. But right after host LaPorte cut the Mustangs’ lead to nine points in the middle of the third, Davis saw an opening.
“My coaches were telling me to stay aggressive and find ways to the rim,” Davis said. “When I came off the screen, I saw a lane, so I did what I could to score.”
Davis hit a layup and made the ensuing free throw, restoring Munster’s double-digit lead. Two minutes later, the Mustangs were up by 21 and never looked back for a 65-40 win in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Jevon Morris scored a game-high 18 points for Munster (19-4). Davis finished with 14 and Luka Balac had 13.
LaPorte (12-10) was led by 12 points from Garrott Ott-Large, but the Slicers never recovered from that surge in the third quarter by Munster.
Mustangs coach Mike Hackett liked what he saw from his multifaceted offensive attack.
“We have threats across the board,” Hackett said. “I feel like we have a team with quite a few weapons. Getting all those weapons going at the same time is what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
Hackett has talked about his team’s potential all season. With the postseason starting next week, maintained he still believes there’s a higher ceiling for his team to reach.
“We’re getting closer,” Hackett said. “But we’re still not there yet. There were a lot of positives, but I’m still waiting. I still think we can put it together and go on a run.”
It wasn’t only Munster’s offense that thrived against LaPorte.
Defensively, the Mustangs held the Slicers to their lowest offensive output of the season, an encouraging development with sectionals starting next week, Balac explained.
“It’s really just about effort,” he said. “We’ve been working on our defense, but it’s been pretty much the same all year.
“Now that the postseason is coming up, we’ve been doing everything we can to be ready for sectionals.”
LaPorte played without injured junior point guard Carson Crass. Slicers coach Kyle Benge described Crass as the “floor general.”
The situation didn’t get any better during the JV game when sophomore Ethan Osowski, who was supposed to replace Crass in the lineup, was injured.
“(Carson) gets us into a lot of things,” Benge said. “We didn’t play well. But (Munster) is long and athletic. We’ll learn from it but we’re already moving on to sectionals. We just ran into a buzz saw.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.