Basketball Recap: Hobart Takes a Loss

Hobart lost against Merrillville back in February of 2024, and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The Hobart Brickies fell 70-62 to the Merrillville Pirates. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Thursday (55), the Brickies still had to take the loss.

Ryan Basham

Points (Career)

02/22/25 @ Merrillville	26
12/28/24 vs South Bend Washington	25
01/18/25 vs Illiana Christian	19
01/10/25 @ Westville	19
12/14/24 @ River Forest	19

When it comes to explaining why Hobart lost, don't look at Ryan Basham. Despite the final result, he shot 41% from the field on his way to 26 points and five rebounds. The dominant performance gave Basham a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Jordan Johnson, who posted nine points in addition to six assists and five boards.

Even though they lost, Hobart smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in three consecutive contests.

Merrillville was led to victory by Jalen McAlister and Kelvion Brown. McAlister went 7-for-10 en route to 17 points and five steals, while Brown made all 6 shots he took for 14 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Thanks to that strong game, Brown now owns an excellent 47.1% shooting accuracy. Charles Hardiman was another key player, putting up 12 points in addition to five steals and three blocks.

Hobart has been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-15 record this season. Merrillville's win bumped their record up to 5-17.

Hobart wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 94-37 victory against Whiting on the 25th. As for Merrillville, they have also already played their next contest, a 48-47 defeat against Penn on the 28th.