MICHIGAN CITY — It came down to a few plays and it was Michigan City’s Wolves that were able to win those and the game over Plymouth 60-50.
“We are happy we had a chance at the end but we should have won,” said Plymouth coach Ryan Bales. “It came down to some little things at the end. Some break downs on defense where we didn’t execute what we needed to do.
“It’s not the defense we’re playing its how we are playing right now,” he said. “We had moments to get a body on them and when we did they generally missed the shot. We have some positives to build off of but there are some plays in there that we have to have that are just hustle plays.”
The Pilgrims had the athletic and talented Wolves off-balance almost from the start making them play at a tempo that was clearly uncomfortable.
Plymouth battled to a tie at half time in a low possession game that was clearly in their favor. Brady Hissong and Easton Strain were difference makers on the boards and at night’s end Strain had 9 and was one board shy of his second straight double-double with 11 points to go with them. Hissong had seven boards and five points.
Plymouth’s zone defense was tough for the first three quarters and helped the Pilgrims build a seven-point lead.
Unfortunately, that lead disappeared quickly as Michigan City ratcheted up their pressure to another level forcing four turnovers in a 40-second span to start the fourth and turned a two-point lead, into a four-point deficit and essentially took over control of the game.
“We had some guys sacrificing their body at times and there were other times that we didn’t do that and against a team like that you can’t do that,” said Bales.
“Control the tempo was one of the keys to the game and that is easier said than done. They are very explosive, and it’s tough to defend them one on one when they are getting steals in transition,” he said. “We did enough things to build a seven-point lead there in the third, there were just some mental break downs. We just didn’t get it done.
A balanced attack from Michigan City didn’t allow any room for error for the Pilgrims.
“They come at you in waves and they are very deep. We knew that coming in,” said Bales. “We did a great job in the half-court, maybe as good a job as we’ve done all year showing some patience. It just came down to not finishing enough plays.”
Plymouth moves to 4-7 on the season with a game at Elkhart Memorial on Friday. Michigan City is now 7-1.
•MICHIGAN CITY 60, PLYMOUTH 50
At Michigan City
Plymouth 14 28 42 50
Michigan City 16 28 40 60
