Trojans open postseason tonight at home against Portage in a sectional quarterfinal, winner faces Merrillville on Friday, championship game Saturday

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Sectional host Chesterton opens its postseason today with a 7 p.m. quarterfinal vs. Portage in a clash of teams with 19-4 overall records.
It’s a rematch of Chesterton’s 65-55 win at Portage on Feb. 13.
Portage sophomore Bryce Kobe, a lanky lefty guard, led all scorers with 23 points in that one and Chesterton’s balanced scoring included 17 points from Bradly Basila, 15 from Jaylon Watts and 14 from Logan Pokorney.
“I’m hoping that we get a good crowd and we get a lot of people to come out and support us because when we do, it definitely translates to our guys,” 10th-year Chesterton coach Marc Urban said. “So, hopefully being at home and playing well, we get a good turnout.”
Accurate shooting from long range is what Chesterton does best. The Trojans shot . 416 from 3 for the season, but when saying that the Trojans have been playing well, Urban meant more than just shooting well.
“I think we're defending better, and I think we've played more complete games,” Urban said. “You go back to the LaPorte game. We got up big, and then we got really cute and started taking really bad shots and then they went on a big run there and got it kind of tight. Even Michigan City, we're up like 11 at the half and probably didn't execute or defend as well as we needed to and they made that a tight one late.”
The Trojans closed the regular season by making 31 3-pointers in the final two games, winning at home vs. Valparaiso, 75-33, and on the road vs. Culver Military Academy, 75-47.
“As we've gone on, we put more complete games together. I felt we did that against Culver and even Valparaiso,” Urban said. “I never felt that we put our guard down and I think that's a big, big piece because when you put your guard down, now you're vulnerable, and that's when people can make those runs.”
One interesting aspect of tonight’s playoff opener revolves around when Portage will unleash its pressure defense, sometimes extended to full court other times half court. In the first game, Portage waited until well into the second half to crank up that pressure.
“The first time they didn’t speed us up until a little bit later, so it’s going to be interesting to see what kinds of adjustments that they make,” Urban said. “Both teams will make adjustments, so it's just a matter of trying to navigate out the first quarter and then making sure that we continue to focus on us and do things that we can control and try not to beat ourselves. I think that's a big piece to this one.”
Chesterton has won five in a row heading into the postseason and Portage is riding a three-game winning streak that came on the heels of a four-game losing streak.
The winner of tonight’s game plays Merrillville on Friday night at approximately 7:30, after the other semifinal, which pits Hobart vs. Valpo and starts at 6. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.