Bulldogs fall to Warsaw 46-33 in Regional Final, stun East Chicago 67-52 in Regional Semifinal

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
03-20-2016

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
WARSAW (25-1)	7	6	13	20	46
CROWN POINT (19-9)	2	7	5	19	33

Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Class 4A Regional Championship game at MICHIGAN CITY, Ind.

East Chicago's Charlie Cleveland (4) shoots over Crown Point's John Sakaleros (42) in Saturday's Michigan City Regional semifinals. Crown Point held EC to 52 points, only 22 in the first half. (All photos by Mark Smith)

CP's Leo Zdanowicz (25) blocks out East Chicago's Jamar Adams at the foul line. CP was just 20 of 33 from the line but never trailed.

East Chicago star Damien Jefferson (23) guarded Crown Point's Grant Gelon (30) Saturday in Michigan City. Gelon will play in college at Indiana University. Jefferson will play at the University of New Mexico.

CP coach Clint Swan watches EC junior Jermaine Couisnard (5) shoot the ball in Michigan City. Cousinard, who averaged 17 points a game, was 2 of 12 from the field and finished with only six points.

CP's Andrew Kenneally (44) sets a pick on EC junior Alyion Stubbs for the benefit of Dominic Tomich (12) Saturday at Michigan City. The Bulldogs were 21 of 43 from the field.

The Crown Point defense surrounded EC's Damien Jefferson (23) whenever he got near the basket Saturday. CP defenders like Grant Gelon (30) and Sasha Stefanovic (33) limited Jefferson, who averaged 26 points per game, to just 17.

CP's Andrew Kenneally (44) battles for position against Warsaw's Jeremy David (54) in the regional championship game in Michigan City last Saturday night.

Crown Point mayor Dave Uran, right, followed the Bulldogs to Michigan City for the regional games Saturday.

CP's Grant Gelon (3) is the first to this loose ball Saturday at Michigan City. Gelon finished the season with 98 3-point baskets, four shots off his own school record of 102 in the 2015 season.

Warsaw's Paul Marandet (3) had the ball most the time Saturday night against Crown Point and Crown Point defenders like Leo Zdanowicz (25) just couldn't get it away from him.

Crown Point coach Clint Swan watched his team fall one game short of the 4A regional championship for the second season in a row, finishing with a 19-8 record.

CP didn't win the regional Saturday, but the city was still proud of the sectional victory over Valparaiso. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Copyright © 2016 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved. Revised: March 27, 2016 .

 

WARSAW (46) Paul Marandet 4-9-18, Kyle Mangas 5-5-18, Riley Rhondes 1-0-2, Jeremy David 1-0-2, Jack Rhondes 0-2-2, Jaceb Burish 0-0-0, Evan Schmidt 1-0-3, Braxton Minix 0-0-0, Ross Johnson 0-0-0, Sam Miller 0-1-1. TOTALS: 12-of-25 (17-20) 46.

CROWN POINT (33) Blake Bonin 1-0-3, John Sakaleros 1-2-4, Dominic Tomich 0-2-2, Sasha Stefanovic 1-1-3, Grant Gelon 3-0-9, Andrew Kenneally 2-2-6, Leo Zdanowicz 0-0-0, Kenny Decker 0-0-0, Cameron Pimentel 2-0-4, Tommy Frame 1-0-2, Zach Stewart 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12-of-47 (5-6) 33.
 
FREE THROWS: WARSAW (17-20, 85%) Marandet 9-10, Mangas 5-6, Rhoades 2-2, Miller 1-2; CROWN POINT (5-6, 83.3%) Kenneally 2-2, Sakaleros 2-2, Stefanovic 1-2.

REBOUNDS: WARSAW (28) Mangas 7, Marandet 7, Rhoades 5, Schmidt 3, David 3, Minix 2, Burish
CROWN POINT (17) Gelon 6, Stefanovic 3, Bonin 2, Sakaleros 2, Decker 2, Pimentel, Tomich .

ASSISTS: WARSAW (7) Marandet 3, Mangas, Rhoades, David, Burish; CROWN POINT (8) Tomich 3, Bonin 2, Stewart, Stefanovic, Decker.

3-GOALS: WARSAW (5-6) Kyle Mangas 3-3, Evan Schmidt 1-1, Paul Marandet 1-1, Jaceb Burish 0-1; CROWN POINT (4-28) Grant Gelon 3-10, Blake Bonin 1-7, Dom Tomich 0-4, Sasha Stefanovic 0-4, Andrew Kenneally 0-2, Cameron Pimentel 0-1.

FOULED OUT: None.
 

Saturday, March 12, 2016 - Class 4A Regional Semifinal game at MICHIGAN CITY, Ind.

EAST CHICAGO (52) Damien Jefferson 6-4=-17, Devonte Jones 2-0-4, Edwin Wilson 0-0-0, Jamar Adams 4-0-9, Jermaine Couisnard 2-2-6, Charlie Cleveland 0-2-2, Alyion Stubbs 4-3-12, Louis Wiliams 1-0-2.
TOTALS: 19-55 (11-17) 52.

CROWN POINT (67) Blake Bonin 0-2-2, John Sakaleros 3-0-6, Dominic Tomich 1-6-9, Sasha Stefanovic 5-7-19, Grant Gelon 4-2-10, Andrew Kenneally 7-5-19, Leo Zdanowicz 0-0-0, Kenny Decker 1-0-2, Cameron Pimentel 2-0-4. TOTALS: 21 of 43 (20-33) 67.

FREE THROWS: EAST CHICAGO (11-17, 64.7%) Jefferson 4-6, Stubbs 3-4, Cleveland 2-4, Cousinard 2-2, Jones 0-1. CROWN POINT (20-33, 60.6%) Stefanovic 7-12, Kenneally 5-10, Tomich 6-6, Bonin 2-4, Sakaleros 0-1.

REBOUNDS: EAST CHICAGO (34) Jefferson 9, Cleveland 6, Jones 6, Couisnard 5, Adams 3, Stubbs 2, Wilson 2, Williams; CROWN POINT (28) Stefanovic 14, Gelon 5, Kenneally 3, Tomich 3, Sakaleros , Decker , Zdanowicz
ASSISTS: EAST CHICAGO (6) Couisnard 3, Adams Stubbs, Jefferson; CROWN POINT (15) Stefanovic 5, Tomich 6, Bonin 2, Gelon, Zdanowicz.

3-GOALS: EAST CHICAGO (3-19, 15.8%) Jamar Adams 1-2, Alyion Stubbs 1-2, Damien Jefferson 1-7, Jermaine Cousinard 0-3, Edwin Wilson 0-4, Louis Williams 0-1. CROWN POINT (5-19, 26.3%) Sasha Stefanovic 2-8, Grant Gelon 2-8, Dominic Tomich 1-1, Blake Bonin 0-2.

FOULED OUT: EC (1) Jermaine Cousinard (4th Q) 2;10 left.

But as long as a ball has been thrown through an iron hoop, teams with good ball handlers have been slowing the game down, showing patience in passing and shooting, limiting the possessions of the opposition. And winning. The way 4A No. 5 Warsaw won 46-33 in front of 4,000 somewhat subdued fans in the giant Michigan City gym. CP didn’t score until Andrew Kenneally sank a layup with five minutes left in the first period. At the half, Crown Point, which averaged 65 points a game on the season, was 3-of-16 from the field and trailed 13-9 when the second period ended. Kenneally, a 6-foot-7 junior, led CP scoring with four points. And the Bulldogs had no turnovers. None. So counting two trips to the foul line, CP basically had 18 possessions. About one every 45 seconds.

Folks walking around in the stands at the half were somewhat stunned, but that’s how Warsaw had built their 25-1 record. They just play differently from most big school teams.

“It’s difficult. But we just know that if we can play our game. We’re probably going to win,” said senior ballhandling master Paul Marandet, who scored 18 points. “So we just do everything we can to play like that.”

The Tigers were led by 6-foot-3 junior Kyle Mangas, who scored all 18 of his points in the second half, but they allowed 38.4 points per game through 24 games, and they gave up 33 to the Bulldogs.

“We had to get off to a better start,” said CP coach Clint Swan, who saw his team fall short of the school’s first regional title in 18 years. “They are really good. We had some good shots. They just didn’t go down. We can't go 4-for-28 on 3s and beat a team like that. I think we were tired. That’s no excuse. They (Warsaw) played a double overtime game. The bottom line is: We’ve got to make shots.”

“The start of the first quarter and the start of the third quarter did us in. We actually liked where we were at halftime. But we got off to another slow start and they kinda seized that opportunity. They’re not 25-1 for nothing. They’re methodical and they wear you down.”

CP didn’t score two consecutive baskets until the fourth quarter. It was only 28-18 with 6:11 to go and still within 34-24 after two Grant Gelon 3-point shots with 3:25 left. But Warsaw, led by the 6-foot senior Marandet, converted possessions into foul shots and the Tigers, champions of the Northern State Conference, sank 16 of 19 from the foul line in the final period to ice the game.

Warsaw took just 25 field goal attempts in the entire game.

CP just could not hurry them up.

“They do not have guard you can turn over easily,” said Swan. “They don’t have guards who are physically weak. They don’t have guards who shoot free throws poorly. They make you pay if you press them. We tried to press them late, more out of desperation. We got a couple of turnovers, but we missed shots.”

Warsaw’s patient style flies in the face of everything young boys see watching college and pro basketball. There must be some hard times in practice when young Tigers have to accept the way the coach wants them to play.

“For sure,” said Marandet. “But that’s what makes it good. We’re coachable and we’re tough. You have to buy into the system and buy into what the coaches say. It's been working out pretty good this year.”

Warsaw trailed defending regional champion South Bend Riley by 11 in the morning semifinals, but they rallied to win 79-74 in two overtimes, sinking 39 of 45 from the line.

“We didn't have doubts,” said Marandet, who averages a modest 12 points and 3.5 assists per game. “We knew all week they’d come out strong and they did. But we knew the game would come back to us.”

Crown Point led all the way beating East Chicago in the semifinals 67-52. The lack of a challenge from the Cardinals (18-6) was seen as a good omen for CP, but it's tough to shoot well from the outside in the second of two playoff games. This CP team was a distance shooting team (208 of 588 – 35.4% on 3-point shots) and they were 4-of-28 against Warsaw.

Crown Point committed just two turnovers in the entire game. They were outrebounded 28-17 but many of those came late as the Bulldogs fired up long shots trying to rally.

Somehow this loss didn’t feel bad. The Bulldogs were beaten soundly by a more higher rated team with a better record. Once you accept that you weren't going to win the state title, you evaluate the softness of your season ending ‘landing.’

Losing to a team that had lost only once was a soft landing, allowing Swan to be able to talk about what the team accomplished moments after the game had ended.

“It's special.” Swan said. “This senior class (John Sakaleros, Grant Gelon, Blake Bonin, Leo Zdaowicz and Tommy Sanborn) was in the third grade when I got here. They came all the way through our program. Our program was in a bad place three years ago when they were freshmen. They lifted this thing back up. They’re special. We are gong to miss them. I hope the younger kids took a lot of notes because that’s how you do it.”

DOG NOTES: Crown Point finishes with a 19-9 record and a sectional championship for the second season in a row. The Bulldogs were 5-16 in the 2013 season. The last 20-win season for Crown Point came in 1969. CP’s last regional title came under coach Tom Johnson in 1998.

Grant Gelon (14.5 ppg.) ended his senior year at 98 of 252 on three point shots. For his career, the 6-foot-6 guard was 276 of 658 (41.8%) on 3-point shots and 96 of 125 (76.8%) from the foul line.

Sasha Stefanovic (15.4 ppg.) has 829 career points and would need to average 15 points a game for just 13 games to reach 1,000 next season.

Crown Point shot 73.4% (427 of 582) from the foul line led by Dominic Tomich (47 of 53) who shots 88.7%. Blake Bonin was 48 of 64 (75%) and was 127 of 155 (81.9%) over four years. John Sakaleros led CP shooting (54 of 84) 64.3% from the field. Andrew Kenneally shot (122 of 202) 60.4% from the field.