HAMMOND, Ind. — With only three returning players from the 2008-09 season, Purdue University Calumet’s men’s basketball coaches knocked on several doors searching for recruits to fit the Peregrine program. Second-year head coach Dan Voudrie recently locked up nine players from across Indiana, including eight freshmen and one junior college transfer.

“We are pleased to have this collection of young men as our initial recruiting class. As basketball players, most of these guys believe they were overlooked by many other colleges and have the right kind of attitude about working to prove it,” Voudrie said.

Junior Neal Hudson (Hobart), a 6-6 transfer from Joliet Junior College, Ill., averaged 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season. He was an all-conference player in the North Central Community College Conference and an all-area player in Region IV of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

A second local player, Markus Starks, 6-6 from Gary Wirt, averaged 15.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game last season. He was all conference in the Northwest Conference and named to all area teams for the Northwest Indiana Times and Post Tribune.

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PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. — Trinity Christian College finished the regular season leading the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference in field goal and 3-point percentages. And in the final three-plus minutes of Monday’s quarter-final contest, the Trolls displayed their 3-point prowess for an 80-68 win ending the Peregrines’ 2008-09 season.

Peregrine center Kevin Thomas (Highland) scored off an offensive rebound, was fouled and finished off the 3-point play nailing the free throw bringing his team to within one, 64-63, with 3:44 left to play. That was as close as the Peregrines would get in the closing minutes of the game.

The Trolls connected on their next five possessions, including a pair of 3-pointers, while the Peregrines could only muster one field goal during two-plus minutes of action. That stretched the one-point lead to 76-65 Troll advantage with 90 seconds left.

Peregrine guard Robert Williams (Gary West Side) nailed a 3-pointer just beyond the top of the key to finish the scoring with 33 seconds left on the clock.

Antonio Hurt (Michigan City) led the Peregrines with 14 points, including two from the 3-point stripe. The sophomore hit 54 percent from the field and 66 percent from 3-point line.

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MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — A combination of full court defensive pressure and a hot offense in the second half helped the Purdue North Central Panthers get their first conference win of the season. The Panthers forced 18 turnovers and connected on 10 baskets from the 3-point arc beating the Peregrines splitting the season series in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and closing out the regular season for both squads.

PUC had a six-point, 36-30, lead at the half, but PNC amped up its offense scoring 43 in the second 20 minutes of action. The Peregrines (3-25 overall, 3-9 CCAC) couldn’t get their offense rolling for most of the second half, including a 2-of-10 success rate from the 3-point stripe.

Sophomore Robert Williams (Gary West Side) led the Peregrines in scoring for the third time this season. Williams was 5-of-7 (71 percent) from the field, including a 3-pointer, and was perfect at the charity stripe 6-of-6 for 17 points in the contest, more than doubling his season average of 8.4 per game.

Antonio McNeal (Hammond Gavit) scored double figures for the tenth time in 15 games. The junior, who leads the Peregrines with a 13.1 per game average, scored 15 and added six rebounds.

Two seniors, Kevin Thomas (Highland) and Kris Krstevski (Lake Central), each scored eight points. Thomas grabbed six rebounds in the loss, while Krstevski had three of the team’s six steals.

REC CENTER — For 19 minutes and 46 seconds of the first half, the Peregrines had a lead over the conference-leading Wolves giving the home crowd energy. But when Wolves guard Pat Barron hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left in the half it ignited the Cardinal Stritch University offense that scored 61 in the second 20 minutes leading to the 98-78 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference win.

The Peregrines opened the game on a 6-0 run and built the lead to eight, 26-18, when senior Kris Krstevski hit his first 3-pointer of the night. But the Wolves closed the half with a 19-9 run of their own taking a 37-35 lead into the locker room.

Four-and-a-half minutes into the second half, the Wolves (20-7 overall, 10-2 CCAC) pushed the lead to double digits hitting four of their first five shots. The Peregrines’ offense struggled out of the intermission connecting on 2-of-9 (22 percent) through the first seven minutes and never got hot enough to match the Wolves.

Sophomore Michael Patton (Gary West Side) nabbed his first double double of the season grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds, while scoring a dozen points. Patton leads the CCAC averaging 8.4 rebounds per game and leads the Peregrines with a 7.7 rpg average.

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REC CENTER — After shooting 52 percent from the field at the south basket in the first half, the Peregrines headed north where the shots refused to drop for the home team. The Peregrines finished the half hitting only 29 percent of their shots falling to the St. Ambrose University Bees 67-62 in the second game of homecoming Saturday.

Through the first 13 minutes of the second half, the Peregrines only scored a dozen points, but were still within five points of the Bees. And when guard Robert Williams (Gary West Side) nailed his second 3-pointer of the game, the Peregrines trailed 58-56 with six-plus minutes to play.

But in the final six minutes the Peregrines could only connect on two more shots, while the Bees hit four-of-seven (57 percent) including a 3-pointer to seal the win. The Peregrines (3-23) led 41-33 at the half, but the sluggish offense only registered 21 second-half points in the loss.

Williams scored a season-high 19 points, hitting 61 percent from the field, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Peregrines. The sophomore also had five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

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