The committee approach has been a point of emphasis for the Chesterton boys basketball team all season.

With freshman center Matt Holba sidelined by a swollen knee Tuesday against Hobart, that approach was stressed even more.

"We all knew we needed to step up and do what we had to do," junior Donnie Johnson said.

Johnson showed the way and the rest of the Trojans followed. His 20-point performance, capped by a tie-breaking basket on a baseline drive late in the second overtime, paced Chesterton to a 76-73 victory against the Brickies.

"We're getting nice balance, which is helping," coach Tom Peller said. "Tonight, it was Donnie (scoring). A lot of different guys did different things."

With the game tied at 73, the Trojans worked for a decisive shot. Cole Teal skipped a diagonal pass over Hobart's zone to Johnson on the right baseline. He went strong to the basket and notched the game-winner with about three seconds left.

"It was a great pass," Johnson said. "I was going to post up, then the ball went to the other side, so I backed up for a 3. The pass was a little short, so I took it in instead of taking a shot."

After Hobart's Matthew Brown lost the ball out of bounds off his foot, Johnson split a pair of free throws with 1.1 seconds left and Brown's desperation heave sailed harmlessly over the backboard.

"It was kind of designed," Peller said of the decisive sequence. "It was like, 'OK, if they're here, this might be there.' We got down. It was looking a little bad for us. But the kids never lost it. They kept persevering through adversity. They showed a lot of character."

The Trojans (4-6) gained control with an 11-1 run in the third quarter that turned a 35-31 deficit into a 42-36 lead. The Brickies hung around, briefly pulling even at 51, and trailed by four in the last 30 seconds. After a Anthony Burgos layup, Jose Robles came up with a steal and fed Burgos for the tying bucket. KJ Zelenika's 3 was partially blocked, sending the game to OT.

"Hobart played a hell of a game," Peller said. "They hit the boards hard. They hustled, scrapped."

The Brickies (6-5) had Chesterton on the ropes in the first extra session, taking a 64-60 lead with 40 seconds to go. Teal free throws halved the deficit and after his blocked shot of Chris Moore, Jake Wasielewski hit a rebound basket on the baseline, capping a wild sequence in which Key Price missed once and then again on a follow-up. Brown lost control of the ball at the other end, failing to get off a shot, to send the game to double overtime.

"We didn't rebound well when we went into a zone," Hobart coach Mike Black said. "We didn't execute well when we should have and that ultimately hurt us."

Corey Rusboldt's 3-point play on a rebound and his subsequent 3 erased 67-64 and 70-67 deficits in the second OT. Patrick Wynn's deep trey -- he had nine points in the final period -- tied the game one final time at 73.

"Chesterton just made one more play than we did," Black said.

In addition to Johnson, the Trojans got 13 points from Teal, 12 from Zelenika before he fouled out and 11 from Rusboldt. Price snared five steals, while Johnson and Wasilewski each nabbed six boards.

"At times, we've lost our intensity," Johnson said. "Everybody did a great job of keeping it up the entire game and getting it done."

Holba is expected to play Friday as the Trojans start the back half of the Duneland Athletic Conference schedule at Michigan City.

Hobart (14-12-13-17-8-9)

Matthew Brown 6-15 0-0 17, Elijah Walker 3-6 1-2 7, Jose Robles 5-6 2-4 12, Patrick Wynn 3-6 3-4 12, Anthony Burgos 5-6 3-6 13, Chris Moore 0-4 1-2 1, Antwone Peterson 1-3 0-2 2, Jarrett Colvin 2-6 2-2 6, Jesse Flores 0-1 0-0 0, David Thomas 1-2 1-2 3, CJ Komosa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 13-24 73.

Chesterton (10-18-14-14-8-12)

KeMonte Price 1-8 7-9 9, KJ Zelenika 3-9 4-4 12, Cole Teal 4-8 4-8 13, Donnie Johnson 6-9 6-10 20, Jake Wasielewski 2-6 1-2 5, Corey Rusboldt 4-7 2-3 11, Mike Thanos 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Rochowiak 0-1 0-0 0, Chris Palombizio 2-4 0-0 6, Brandon Roeske 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 24-36 76.

3-pointers: Brown 5, Wynn 3 (H); Johnson 2, Zelenika 2, Palombizio 2, Rusboldt 1, Teal 1 (C). Rebounds: Robles 7 (H); Johnson 6, Wasielewski 6 (C). Assists: Robles 4 (H); Price 3, Teal 3 (C). Steals: Burgos 2, Flores 2 (H); Price 5 (C).

Posted 1/12/2012