FORT WAYNE – Contrary to Nick Lewis’ assessment, Mike Stevenson probably didn’t have time for a special pregame feast.

But Snider’s Lewis was just trying to explain how Harding’s Stevenson was able to go off for 20 points, including 14 in the first half, in Indiana’s 103-88 win over Ohio on Saturday in the Nancy Rehm Border Wars Classic boys game.

“I didn’t know Stevenson could get hot like that, he must have had a good meal before the game,” Lewis said.

Stevenson wouldn’t have had time for much of a pregame meal, coming straight from an Alumni Game at Harding.

Stevenson left the game at Harding at halftime and missed the pregame pictures at Saint Francis for the 19th annual All-Star game.

The game across town was held to replace the canceled Senior Night game for Harding, a school that will close in its current form and reopen soon as a magnet school.

“It was a lot,” Stevenson said of his day.

Stevenson scored 14 points in the first half and put on quite a shooting display, including a near-impossible, bank-shot three-pointer from the left corner.

“I didn’t even think that was going to go in,” Stevenson said of the tough shot.

“After it left, I thought it was off, and it just hit the backboard and dropped in.”

The 5-foot-11 Stevenson hit 7 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 5 on three-pointers.

“He took good shots,” Indiana coach Kevin Leising said of Stevenson. “I told them I don’t care who takes the shots, but let’s make sure it is a guy who is open. I counted on one hand the number of really bad shots.”

Indiana made 22 of 36 (61 percent) in the second half and 35 of 74 (47 percent) for the game.

Stevenson led five players in double figures for Indiana, which won its second straight against Ohio.

Lewis added 14 points, Concordia’s Kasey Oetting had 13, Warsaw’s Nic Moore scored 11, and North Side’s Antonio Wilson had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The 13-player squad was turned into a balanced and cohesive unit in a short amount of time.

“I guess it was meant to be because we only had two practices,” Stevenson said. “We worked hard in becoming a team just like (Leising) made the statement that we only had two days to become a team.”

Indiana broke away from a tie at 63 with a 13-0 run in the second half.

“(Leising) called a timeout and got on us about being competitive, and that’s when we played with some intensity,” Lewis said. “We were just going out there having fun and try to make the crowd enjoy this game and put on a show.”

Chauncey Orr led Ohio with 20 points, and Xavier Brown added 17.

Note: Wilson won the slam dunk contest, while the three-point winners were Bishop Luers’ Brierra Young (girls), and Ottawa-Glandorf’s Travis Schomaeker (boys).

gjones@jg.net