Highland edges Hanover, thanks to trap

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Updated: March 23, 2012 8:21AM

CEDAR LAKE — Highland coach Eddie Fierek wanted to do something to boost his team’s energy level and pick up the tempo.

By switching to a 1-3-1 trap for the crucial fourth quarter, the Trojans (14-6) found exactly the jump start they needed to erase a double-digit Hanover Central lead in the final eight minutes.

The 1-3-1 trap caused a number of turnovers, leading to easy baskets in transition and helped the Trojans rally from a 12-point deficit in the final period, for a 60-57 win over Hanover Central Tuesday night.

“The defense got us some easy points in transition and our energy level just went up,” Fierek said.

Fierek thought his team could play a man defense against the Wildcats (10-8) but Nick Bollenbacher, who scored a game-high 36 points and had 10 steals, was killing the Trojans inside and out.

“He’s as good as advertised, maybe even better,” said Fierek, of the Wildcats’ standout.

While Bollenbacher definitely turned in a strong performance, he didn’t have a whole lot of help. Hanover’s second-leading scorer, Max Johnson, didn’t even score, while Cam Brady was the only other player in double figures with 10 points.

Meanwhile, Highland’s Tyler Ryzewski saved his best for the fourth period when he scored 11 of his 13 points.

“The defense really started to pick up when we started pressuring the ball,” Ryzewski said. “We started to realize we we were running out of time. We knew we needed to bring up our energy level to help our offense. We wanted to get more touches and more opportunities to score.”’

Mike Anderson scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead the Trojans, while Jordan Minch added 16, including eight in the final period.

“I thought Tyler did a better job of attacking the rim in the fourth quarter,” Fierek said. “That’s what I thought all our kids did a better job of in the fourth quarter. We tried to speed them up in the fourth quarter to get some possessions back and we were able to do that.”

Hanover Central coach Rod Bollenbacher was disappointed with the loss.

“We hold them to two points in the second quarter, but we missed some assignments,” he said. “We got beat on the backside, fouled on a couple layups that hurt us. We just had some mental lapses that we can’t have against a great team like Highland.”