Two of the best teams in Northwest Indiana met in the semifinals of the Huntington Holiday Hoops Tournament. Valparaiso entered the game 8-0 while Merrillville was 7-2. It looked like a great game on paper and the real thing lived up to it.

The first quarter was high octane with both teams shooting well from the field. Merrillville’s Johnny Bernard and Valparaiso’s Patric Kelly provided most of the scoring for their respective teams. Kelly had 11 in the opening frame.

Things slowed down a bit in the second quarter. Charlie Healy came off the Viking bench to knock down a couple threes in the period. Senior forward Jay Bisacky increased his production before halftime as well for Valpo.

Play became a little more physical in the second half and the referees didn’t have much leeway. That led to a bunch of fouls being called in the third quarter. Trace Ramsey had a nice period attacking the basket and getting fouled.

It was a back and forth game in the fourth quarter until Cameron Wilbon took over for Merrillville about midway through the period. With the Pirates down two points, Wilbon scored seven straight points to give Merrillville the lead. There were 10 lead changes and 14 ties in the game but neither occurred after Wilbon’s personal run.

Valpo had a chance to tie or take the lead on the final possession after Patric Kelly hit a triple then Merrillville turned the ball over with 10 seconds left. Ramsey drove and kicked to Adrian Casaday for an open three-pointer but the shot was off the mark and the buzzer sounded as the teams fought for the rebound.

Merrillville escaped with the 62-60 victory. Cameron Wilbon led Merrillville with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists. Johnny Bernard added 11 while Mileek McMillan had 10 points and four rebounds.

Trace Ramsey led Valpo with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Patric Kelly added 14 and Jay Bisacky had 10 points and nine rebounds.