PJ Katona has been enjoying his first extended experience defending in Munster’s 2-3 zone.

The senior guard had five steals Friday night as the visiting Mustangs topped Crown Point 41-28.

Katona, who also had a team-high nine points, has flourished as a starter. He playing a limited role last season when Munster (5-1) installed its zone under longtime coach Mike Hackett.

“It’s very fun,” Katona said. “Coach stresses taking the ball away and keeping the ball out of the middle.

“It’s all about reading their eyes. The first couple times, just let them pass it back and forth. Then when they get comfortable, just jump the passing lanes and it’s an easy layup every time.”

Hackett liked his team’s aggressiveness in the zone, with Katona and senior guard Josh Davis initiating it.

“Those guys up front are very active and they anticipate very well,” Hackett said.

“They read the guys’ eyes. It was beneficial. I’d like to see us make a few more of the layups we had.”

Crown Point (2-3) shot 24.4% (10-for-41). The Bulldogs scored four points in the second quarter, then went scoreless in the third.

“You don’t see that very much in a varsity game,” Hackett said. “Crown Point’s always a good team offensively. They always put points on the board and they have good shooters.

“I don’t know if they had an off shooting night or our defense was that good. I’d like to think it was a combination.”

Crown Point coach Clint Swan wasn’t discouraged by the offensive performance of his “inexperienced” team.

“Everybody’s going to talk about the third quarter, but it might’ve been our best quarter offensively,” Swan said. “We got good looks. We got good shots. They just didn’t go down.

“We got some good movement. We got some good looks. We just couldn’t make any.”

Munster led from start to finish, scoring the first six points, including the first four from 6-foot-8 senior center Jeffrey Hemmelgarn.

The Mustangs led by as much as 35-17 when Katona hit a 3-pointer with 7:10 left on a kickout from Hemmelgarn.

Hemmelgarn totaled eight points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists.

Junior guard Ty Smith had nine points for Crown Point, which went scoreless after Smith hit 2 of 3 free throws with 6:23 left in the second quarter until Ben Uran hit the first of two with 7:42 left in the fourth.

Munster scored 13 straight points during that stretch for a 32-17 lead.

“When you know the other team can’t score, it’s fun,” Katona said. “You can see it in their eyes.

“They’re scared. They’re nervous. They wanted to get the ball out of their hands quickly, and I was looking to jump the passing lanes.”