Sophomore All-State candidate Caleb Coolman scored 20 points and dished out seven assists and Penn took command in the second half to defeat Merrillville 61-50 in high school basketball action on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.
Penn outscored Merrillville 35-20 in the second half.
The Kingsmen head into Class 4-A Sectional 3 play with a 17-6 record. Penn plays Michigan City on Wednesday, March 4, at Mishawaka.
Coolman, a 6-foot-5 point guard, also had steals and four rebounds.
Makale Price scored 14 points and had eight rebounds.
Ben Murphy scored six points and had three assists and four steals.
Christian Bonner scored seven points and had five rebounds.
Freshman Mi’Kell Burton scored five points, had three assists and two steals.
PENN 61: Mi’Kell Burton 5, Ben Murphy 6, Caleb Martinez 1, Caleb Coolman 20, Ben Schirripa 0, Jackson Smith 0, Colin Oney 0, Lucas Obermeyer 3, Cody Evans 5, Christian Bonner 7, Makale Price 14, Jay Patten 0, Caden Armour 0.
Merrillville 50: Cameron Jones 4, Kaiden Wilbon 2, Cayden Thompson 2, Paris Brown 0, Kelvion Brown 0, Charles Hardiman 19, Josiah Jones 20, Amari Murphy 1, Roderick Durant-Hicks 0, Idris Norey 2.
PENN 11 15 19 16 – 61
Merrillville 16 14 8 12 – 50
Three-pointers: PENN 7 (Caleb Coolman 2, Ben Murphy 2, Mi’Kell Burton 1, Lucas Obermeyer 1, Cody Evans 1), Merrillville 1 (Hardiman 1).
