Calumet slows it down for win

HIGHLAND — It’s not often a coach will totally change this team’s style with two games left in the season. But Calumet coach Matt Justin did it.

The Warriors decided to turn things down a notch or three, and so far so good as evidenced by their 43-34 victory over Highland.

“At the start of the year, we were trying to push the ball, get up and down,” Justin said. “But we decided Wednesday against Roosevelt that we were going to start looking to grind it out here for the sectional.”

The first half set a new definition for grinding it out. Calumet connected on five field goals, while Highland managed two. Turnovers weren’t the problem — the two squads had eight between them. The shooting was just colder than the Polar Vortex.

Calumet’s Dantrell Brooks was the lone exception. Maybe the 6-4 junior wanted to make an impression after he was mistakenly not announced as part of the starting lineup. Brooks had nine of his game-high 15 points, and six of his 16 total rebounds to lead the Warriors to a 17-12 halftime advantage.

“(Brooks) was a load in there,” Justin said. “I’m not sure why I don’t get some small colleges calling about him because he’s a relentless rebounder.”

Highland got a 3-pointer from Matt Benninghoff to knot things up midway through the third quarter. But Calumet’s Anthony Harris scored eight points in the quarter and delivered a couple of alley-oop feeds to Javonta Whitehead as the Warriors maintained a 31-28 advantage after three quarters.

“They boxed-and-oned (Harris) in the first half and held him to one point,” Justin said of the junior who averages 19 points per game. “It showed some growth that he let the game come to him.”

Demetrius Abram scored all 10 of his points in the second half to lead the Trojans.