Mosser comes up big for Vikings

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Updated: March 5, 2012 8:09AM

CHESTERTON — John Mosser scored 23 points Friday night. But 21 of them came in two monster quarters for the Valparaiso junior center.

With the Vikings trailing by two entering the fourth quarter, Mosser came up clutch time after time, scoring 11 points in the decisive final period to lift Valparaiso to a 58-52 Duneland Conference victory over Chesterton.

“He became the go-to guy for us and finished things down there in the post,” Vikings coach Joe Otis said.

After a miserable third quarter in which Valparaiso shot 1-of-9 from the floor and scored just four points, the Vikings turned it up on both ends of the floor in the fourth. A 13-0 run to start the period gave Valparaiso (12-4, 8-3 DAC) a 46-35 lead midway through the final quarter.

During that stretch, Mosser had two three-point plays, one off an offensive rebound and another off a Trojans turnover.

“Those are big energy plays for the team, not just me,” said Mosser, who had 10 second-quarter points as the Vikings built a 29-23 halftime lead. “It gets the team fired up.”

Chesterton, though, wouldn’t go away. Playing without two of their regulars, the Trojans pulled to within three with under a minute to play before a Mosser layup and a pair of Tyler Doane free throws helped seal the Vikings win.

The Trojans (5-10, 3-8 DAC) shot 8-of-15 from 3-point range, led by Cole Teal, who scored 16 and hit three 3-pointers.

“I feel good about what we did,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “We were just inexperienced at times. We’ve got a young team out there, and it takes time.”

Drew Boetel added 11 points for Valparaiso, which snapped a two-game skid. Corey Rusboldt scored 13 for the Trojans.