Crown Point defeats previously unbeaten Griffith 69-62 in boys basketball

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-24-2009

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
GRIFFITH (4-1)	15	11	13	23	62
CROWN POINT (3-4)	15	15	17	22	69

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - nonconference game at CROWN POINT, IN

GRIFFITH (62) Tyrell Tinnon 4-7-17, Jacob Evancich 3-2-9, Kyle Terpstra 4-5-13, Peter Sepulveda 6-7-19, Brian Brilmyer 2-0-4, Ed Johnson 0-0-0, Cal Bonewits 0-0-0, Jackson Buzea 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19 (21-31) 62.

CROWN POINT (69) Jared Smoot 5-1-11, Scooter Jacobus 2-1-6, Sean Crary 6-6-19, Michael Albrecht 5-10-22, Tony Patrick 1-1-3, Billy Brown 0-2-2, Evan Langbehn 2-2-6, Jordan Jurasevich 0-0-0, Dejan Stefanovic 0-0-0. TOTALS: 21 (23-32) 69.

FREE THROWS: GRIFFITH (21-32, 65.6%) Tinnon 7-9, Evancich 2-5, Terpstra 5-8, Sepulveda 7-10: CROWN POINT (23-31, 77.4%) Albrecht 10-10, Brown 2-2, Smoot 1-4, Jacobus 1-2, Patrick 1-2, Crary 6-8, Langbehn 2-2, Stefanovic 0-1.

REBOUNDS: GRIFFITH (16) Terpstra 7, Sepulveda 5, Tinnin 3, Brilmeyer; CROWN POINT (42) Smoot 15, Crary 7, Albrecht 6, Langbehn 6, Jacobus 3, Stefanovic 3, Brown, Jurasevich.

ASSISTS: GRIFFITH (7) Tinnin 2, Evancch 2, Sepulveda, Buzea, Brilmeyr; CROWN POINT (13) Albrecht 8, Jacobus 2, Langbehn 2, Patrick.

STEALS: GRIFFITH (14) Tinnin 7, Terpstra 3, Sepulveda 2, Johnson, Buzea; CROWN POINT (4) Crary 2, Langbehn, Stefanovic.

BLOCKED SHOTS: GRIFFITH (2) Terpstra 2, CROWN POINT (2) Smoot, Jurasevich.

FOULED OUT: GRIFFITH (2) Jacob Evancich (4th Q) 2:21 left; Brian Brilmyer (4th Q) 3:33 left.

3-GOALS: GRIFFITH (3) Tyrell Tinnin 2, Jacob Evancich; CROWN POINT (3) Michael Albrecht 2, Sean Crary.

CROWN POINT, IN (12-22-2009) Griffith didn't shoot as well as they usually do. Crown Point didn't handle the ball as well as they usually do.

But Crown Point's top scorers put up solid totals and the Bulldogs were 23 of 32 from the foul line, handing the Panthers their first loss in five games, 69-62 in the final game before Christmas.

Juniors Michael Albrecht and Sean Crary combined for 41 points and 6-foot-10 center Jared Smoot grabbed 16 rebounds, as the Bulldogs (3-4) posted a quality nonconference victory.

"We beat a very good team tonight," said CP coach Clint Swan of Griffith. "I think they'll win a lot of games. They're a defending sectional champion and I think they'll probably win their sectional again."

What was good from a Crown Point standpoint was to see points up on the board. The Bulldogs had been held to 51 points or less in every game except a no contest win over Morton (0-6). CP still has offensive problems. They sank just 21 of 55 shots from the field on this night. But they also made 18 of 20 from the line in the final quarter when they needed the points.

"We're trying to get there," said Swan. "Little by little. And I think we got a lot accomplished tonight."

Griffith, which has seven seniors (including four senior starters) features 6-foot-6 senior forwards Kyle Terpstra and Brian Brilmyer and they were handcuffed when Brilmyer drew three fouls in the first 11 minutes of the game. Smoot, who is still a work in progress on offense, was a major factor defensively altering the Panthers' shots close to the basket. Griffith shot just 19 of 50 (38%) from the floor.

CP led 11-6 and 13-8 in the first quarter but the Bulldogs' nine first half turnovers prevented them from taking control of the game in front of about 500 Tuesday night fans.

CP's Sean Crary scored 14 in the first half, many on quick drives to the basket. Griffith was 15 of 20 from the foul line in the first two quarters.

Albrecht, who had a major battle with Griffith point guard Tyrell Tinnin all night, hit three field goals in the third quarter as CP built a seven point lead. But Terpstra, playing the post as Brilmyer sat with foul trouble, was able to get to the basket for three fourth quarter field goals as the game became close again. Tinnin, a 5-foot-7 junior who had seven steals, made it difficult for the Bulldogs to run any offense. But Albrecht controlled the ball for Crown Point and when the Panthers needed to foul, the 5-foot-11 CP junior sank 10 consecutive foul shots in the fourth quarter. Griffith never got any closer than three points in the final quarter.

"Michael is just so invaluable to us in the way he can control the ball game," said Swan. "Handle the ball. Got it where it needed to go. But you have to tip your cap to Tyrell Tinnin as well. I thought he gave 'Spike' everything he can handle."

Griffith had dominated four losing teams in the early going and they may have been looking forward to the game at CP and the Wheeler Tournament on Dec. 28-29 as a true measuring stick.

The ongoing focus this season will be the development of Smoot, CP's tallest player, a very athletic 6-foot-10, 225-pound player who is still learning the game at this level. The big center has more potential than any player in the DAC, but that's a blessing and a curse. Against a good-sized front line, Smoot missed some passes against Griffith that would have been uncontested baskets. He still finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds and those are numbers the Bulldogs would be happy with every game, even if Jared has the ability to score 20 and grab 20 every night.

"I think we have to be careful with that," Swan said. "He had a good game tonight. What are Terpstra and Brilmyer averaging this year? He affected them. Did he miss some opportunities out there? Yes. But I see him trying. I see him making progress in his first year on the varsity and I'm thrilled about that."

Tinnin hit a three-pointer to cut the CP lead to 61-57 with 1:02 left and he hit another three-pointer to cut the lead to 67-62 with 19 seconds remaining. But Sean Crary hit four free throws to close out the game. Griffith coach Justin Fronek was a little short on depth after the starting five.

"I think we've got good ballplayers all the way down the roster," he said. "But we didn't plan on Brilmyer being on the bench all game. Smoot had an effect on the game, but we put Sepulveda in the post and he was able to get to the basket a little."

"We didn't play as well as we could tonight, but we'll be looking to the Wheeler Tournament (Dec. 28-29) and then we'll play Hanover next month to get ready for the league season."

Crown Point now heads into the tall weeds on the schedule. East Chicago, Boone Grove and Valparaiso remain to play plus two games with arch-rival Merrillville (7-0), the first of which comes up next on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

"We'll get a couple of days off (for Christmas)," said Swan. "And then we'll have a couple of days to get ready. We've played Tuesday and Friday all year. It won't be much different. We'll go on over there and see what we can do. They caught our attention when they beat LC by 36."

DOG NOTES: Michael Albrecht's older brother Stephen, a 2008 CPHS graduate and all-area player, has left the University of Toledo where he was a starting player. Toledo changed its offense and Albrecht left at the semester break. Stephen was in the stands Tuesday night watching the CP-Griffith game and he will look for another college to attend.

"I don't know," Albrecht said Tuesday of his future destination. "I'm just hoping the next place will be a better fit for me. I'm fine. My back (Albrecht had back surgery last season) is okay. There's nothing wrong with me."

CP coach Clint Swan wanted to give credit to senior guard Brent 'Scooter' Jacobus, who came off the bench and contributed a half dozen points, plus a couple of steals and assists.

"Scooter was Scooter tonight," said Swan. "The big '3' at the end of the third quarter was huge for us. He's a very good athlete. He understands the importance of the maturity he brings to the floor and he certainly brought that for us tonight."

Griffith coach Justin Fronek said that he doesn't mind playing a lot of games over the Christmas break as long as he has an experienced team.

"Next year," said Fronek, who has seven seniors, "I probably won't like it. When you have young players it's better off to have nine or ten days off to practice."

2010 CROWN POINT Bulldogs (3-4)
Coach: Clint Swan, 44-24 (4th year)
15-8 (2009), 17-7 (2008), 12-9 (2007)
All games begin with JV game at 6:00 p.m.

Nov. 28 (W) 41-39 Hanover Central (6-1)
Dec. 4 (L) 43-65 at LaPorte (7-2)
Dec. 8 (W) at Morton (0-6)
Dec. 11 (L) 47-53 (OT) Lake Central (3-2)
Dec. 15 (L) 51-66 Valparaiso (7-0)
Dec. 18 (L) 47-53 at Michigan City (3-3)
Dec. 22 (W) 69-62 Griffith (4-1)
Dec. 29 (Tues) at Merrillville (7-0)

Jan. 2 (Sat) at Portage (2-8)
Jan. 8 (Fri) Chesterton
Jan. 15 (Fri) at Lake Central
Jan. 22 (Fri) Michigan City
Jan. 23 (Sat) at East Chicago
Jan. 29 (Fri.) at Valparaiso
Jan. 30 (Sat) Boone Grove
Feb. 5 (F) Merrillville
Feb. 11 (Thurs) LaPorte
Feb. 19 (Fri.) Portage
Feb. 20 (Sat.) at Lowell
Feb. 26 (Fri.) at Chesterton

Michigan City (4A) Sectional
March 2 (Tu.) quarterfinals
March 5 (Fri) semifinals
March 6 (Sat) championship

Michigan City (4A) Regional
March 13 (Sat.) semifinals (a.m.)
March 13 (Sat.) championship (p.m.)