Culver Academy beats Andrean 61-55 in Crown Point 3A Regional Semifinal 65-59

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
03-14-2011

CULVER (61) Juwan Brescacin 2-1-5, Chier Ajou 5-1-11, Jermaine Myers 5-6-18, Willie Strong 4-0-8, Hayes Barnes 6-2-19, Alex Doane 0-0-0, Eljay Murray 0-0-0, Aramonti Phillips 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22 (10-19) 61.

ANDREAN (55) Nick Davidson 5-4-16, Adam Bosak 6-0-12, Colin Wojcik 4-0-10, Josh James 6-1-13, Matt Harangody 1-2-4, DJ Gonzales 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22 (7-9) 55.

FREE THROWS: CMA (10-19, 54.5%) Ajou 1-2, Brescacin 1-3, Myers 5-8, Strong 0-4, Barnes 2-2. ANDREAN (7-9, 77.7%) Davidson 4-5, James 1-2, Harangody 2-2.

REBOUNDS: CMA (18) Strong 6, Brescacin 3, Ajou 2, Myers 2, Barnes 2, Doane 2, Barnes; ANDREAN (20) Wojcik 10, James 5, Gonzales 2, Ruberry, Bosak, Davidson.

ASSISTS: CMA (12) Myers 9, Brescacin, Ajou, Strong; ANDREAN (6) Wojcik 3, Harangody 2, Bosak, Davidson.

STEALS: CMA (9) Myers 4, Brescacin 2, Strong 2, Barnes; ANDREA (6) Davidson 2, Bosak 2, Ruberry, Wojcik.

FOULED OUT: ANDREAN (1) Matt Ruberry (4th Q) :29.

3-GOALS: ANDREAN (4) Nick Davidson 2, Collin Wojcik 2; CMA (7) Hayes Barnes 5, Jermaine Myers 2.

WESTERN (69) Brandon Larrick 6-0-13, Drew Larrick 6-1-13, Damon Reel 4-4-15, Evan Warden 3-10-18, Jon Capps 1-3-5, Quin Fields 1-2-5, Matt Orr 0-0-0, Ben Constable 0-0-0. TOTALS: 21 (20-37) 69.

LEW WALLACE (65) Devonte Harris 4-1-12, Martell Clark 2-2-6, Maurice Thurmond 5-1-15, Mike Kirkendall 1-0-2, Branden Dawson 11-4-28, Levon Hamilton 1-0-2, Sherrod Henderson 0-0-0, Aaron Abram 0-0-0, Michael Williams 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24 (8-22) 65.

FREE THROWS: WESTERN (20-37, 54.0%) Brandon Larrick 0-2, Drew Larrick 1-7, Reel 4-6, Fields 2-4, Warden 10-13, Capps 3-5;
LEW WALLACE (8-22, 36.3%) Dawson 4-10, Clark 2-6, Harris 1-2, Thurmond 1-2, Abram 0-2.

REBOUNDS: WESTERN (30) Drew Larrick 12, Brandon Larrick 9, Warden 4, Fields 2, Reel, Capps, Orr; LW (26) Dawson 13, Kirkendall 4, Clark 3, Abram 3, Thurmond 3.

ASSISTS: WESTERN (4) Brandon Larrick 2, Warden 2; LW (6) Harris 5, Henderson.

BLOCKS: WESTERN (2) Brandon Larrick, Drew Larrick; LW (6) Dawson 2, Abraham.

STEALS: WESTERN (4) Warden, Capps, Reel, Orr; LW (4) Dawson 3, Kirkendall.

FOULED OUT: LW (1) Mike Kirkendall (4th Q) 1:25 left.

3-GOALS: LW (9) Maurice Thurmond 4, Devonte Harris 3, Branden Dawson 2; WESTERN (7) Damon Reel 3, Evan Warden 2, Brandon Larrick, Quin Fields.

CROWN POINT, IN (03-12-2011) If this is the last Crown Point Class 3A boys basketball regional (and word is, it will be) the day had everything in terms of semifinal excitement. But no victories for the home team. Culver Academy's junior all-stater Jermaine Myers teamed with freshman shooter Harris Barnes to stop an Andrean rally and end the 59ers' season 61-55 in the first semifinal game Saturday.

Then, Lew Wallace shot 8 of 22 from the foul line and Western's 6-foot-4 senior twin brothers Brandon and Drew Larrick combined for 26 points and 21 rebounds, giving Western a 69-65 win over Gary's defending 3A regional champs.

Myers scored 19 and 6-foot-5 football star Juwan Brescacin added 18 as Culver won the regional with a 54-52 win over 10th-ranked Western Saturday night.

Andrean was a long shot coming in with three sophomore starters against a Culver Academy squad with 7-foot-1 Chier Ajou at center and 1,000 point scorer Myers, a wonderfully calm ball handler, at lead guard.

"They shot really well," said Andrean coach Carson Cunningham. "They executed well. I thought Andrean played very well. We got a great effort."

Andrean appeared to be headed for victory after trailing 23-18 late in the first half. The 59ers outscored Culver 15-6 at the star of the third period to build a 42-35 lead with 1:45 left in the third period. But Culver, a private boarding school in Marshall County near Plymouth, got two corner three point shots from Barnes, a 5-foot-10 freshman guard, as they scored nine of the first 11 points of the final period for a 51-44 lead.

The 59ers won the battle inside as 6-foot-7 sophomore Josh James and 6-foot-6 senior Adam Bosak combined for 25 points and 15 rebounds against the defensive presence of Ajou, who scored 11, and only three after halftime.  But Myers was easily the best player on the floor and he defeated Andrean's 2-2-1 full court trapping defense when he had to.

"They had an off guard. Number five (Harris). He hadn't made those shots all year," said Cunnijjngham. "And number 2 (Myers), we knew he had a habit of stepping up his game when they needed it."

James scored just one point in the first half, but collected 12 points and five rebounds after the intermission. He was able to outmaneuver the much-taller Culver senior to help boost Andrean's third quarter run.

Cuningham, the fromer Andrean star who finished his third season as the 59ers head coach, wanted to talk more about his graduating seniors than he did about the loss.

"I'm going to miss those guys," he said. "Bozak, (Mario) Gianinni, and (Matt) Harangody. They did a great job as seniors supporting the sophomores. They were great role models and more importantly, they are good people."

Western's win over Lew Wallace was a product of Wallace's chronic poor foul shooting. The Hornets (10-11) sank just 8 of 22 foul shots and never could catch Western after the Kokomo school had built up a 34-18 lead in the final minute of the first half.

Freshman ball handler Evan Walden was the only one who could handle the LW press. Walden, just 5-foot-10, was 10 of 13 from the foul line. All-America forward Branden Dawson of Lew Wallace scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half, but the was just 4 of 10 from the foul line. The Hornets sank nine three-point baskets and forced 20 Western turnovers, but could not take advantage close to the basket.

Western, which refers to western Howard County outside Kokomo, got 26 points and 21 rebounds from 6-foot-4 twins Brandon and Drew Larrick to reach the regional championship game for the first time in seven years. Western had won just two sectionals in history until class basketball began in 1997. Now they have won seven sectionals. Why? They are 3A and nearby Kokomo, with 71 sectional titles, is 4A.

REGIONAL NOTES: Indications are that this is the first and only Crown Point Class 3A basketball regional. This regional, which has moved from Plymouth to Chesterton to Crown Point in the light of crowd control incidents at Plymouth three years ago, almost certainly isn't coming back to CP.

About 2,500 fans attended the regional Saturday and there were no problems, but there is no motivation for CP to host a 3A regional since they are a 4A school. Had Crown Point been playing in the 4A Michigan City Regional, there would have been major unhappiness involving the CP employees who would have had to stay at CPHS for the 3A playoff games.

Chesterton officials suggested Friday that 4A school will not be hosting the 3A regional next year either. The most obvious potential site is the 5,400-seat Calumet Fieldhouse, a tradition-rich location with plenty of parking. Andrean and Wallace do not have gymnasium capacities of over 1,500 and cannot host a four-team regional. Gary Roosevelt's 3,200-seat capacity and New Prarie's 3,200 are probably not big enough either. It would seem the choices are Calumet (5,200), KV (3,995) or back to Plymouth (4,600).

The only problem during the semifinals came when Lew Wallace fans thought that the CP scoreboard operators had missed adding a LW point. After a few minutes of yelling from the pro-Wallace crowd, it was determined that the scoreboard and the scorer's table were correct.

There was not a large crowd inside Crown Point's 5,000-seat gym at any time Saturday. Maybe 2,500 at the end of the first semifinal when all four teams were in the building. The Andrean and Western fans were the wildest with special costumes and a few painted faces. The Lew Wallace crowd was the loudest, egged on by the LW bench during the Hornets second half rally. The atmosphere was very good.

There was an overload of radio stations inside the Bulldog gym with four groups broadcasting the morning games. Radio stations carried the semifinals and the championship game back to Kokomo and to Marshall county on Plymouth radio station. WTCA (1050). Northwest Indiana radio bailed out after the semifinals with Lake County teams playing elsewhere.

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