The Chesterton boys basketball team turned in one of its best performances of the season in picking up a 66-40 victory at Portage on Saturday afternoon.

“It was a great win for us,” Chesterton coach Tom Peller said. “It was nice to build that kind of a lead and get a lot of guys into the game. We’re playing a lot of young kids and I think they are starting to get more comfortable.

“I’m pleased with our progress and I like where we are at.”

It was a simple formula for the Trojans. Offensively they made baskets. Defensively they got stops.

“We made shots and got stops,” Peller said. “That’s the key to basketball.”

The Trojans led 14-10 after one period of play and the lead grew to 27-20 at halftime.

“We had a lead at the half that could’ve been much more,” Peller said. “We didn’t really make any adjustments. We just made shots in the second half. And it wasn’t just one person, it was everybody. We had really good balance.”

Donnie Johnson led the way for Chesterton with 14 points, while Cole Teal and Chris Palombizio each added nine points. Corey Rusboldt tallied eight points in the victory.

“Donnie had another solid game with 14 points and Corey has really come on for us in the last couple of games,” Peller said. “Corey’s doing a nice job handling the ball, making good decisions and shooting it well.”

Brandon Roeske and Matt Holba each had six points with KeMonte Price and KJ Zelenika scoring five points each. Jacob Wasielewski had four points to round out the scoring.

Chesterton (14-13-19-20)

Rusboldt 2 2-2 8, Price 2 1-1 5, Zelenkia 1 2-2 5, Wasielewski 2 0-0 4, Holba 3 0-0 6, Roeske 2 2-2 6, Johnson 6 1-3 14, Palombizio 3 2-2 9, Teal 4 1-1 9, Andert 0 0-0 0, Thanos 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-13 66.

Portage (10-10-9-11)

Psomadolis 2 0-0 5, Roman 1 0-0 3, Pearman 0 2-2 2, Kizer 0 4-6 4, Maldonado 0 0-0 0, Lattanzi 3 3-5 11, Coleman 0 1-2 1, Carter 0 0-0 0, Bearss 1 0-0 2, Clegg 0 0-0 0, Jercha 4 3-4 12, Nacovski 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 13-19 40.

3-point field goals: Chesterton 5 (Rusboldt 2, Zelenika 1, Palombizio 1, Johnson 1); Portage 5 (Psomadolis 1, Roman 1, Lattanzi 2, Jercha 1).