Bulldogs change 'look' as Albrecht's 28 points leads to 56-45 win over Merrillville

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
02-04-2008

Friday, 02-01-2008 - Duneland Athletic Conference boys basketball at CROWN POINT, IN

CROWN POINT (56)  Aleks Alavanja 2-0-4, Zach Cecich 5-0-10, Ben Derks 1-4-6, Jacob Burkholder 3-0-6, Stephen Albrecht 11-2-28, Derrick Garletts 1-0-2, Kyle Hanaway 0-0-0, Michael Lipton 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  23 (6-9, 66.6%) 56.

FREE THROWS:  MERRILLVILLE (16-21, 76.1%)  Patton 4-4, Nwannunu 1-3, Stephenson 3-4, Smith 0-1, Stapleton 5-5, Lee 3-4.  CROWN POINT (6-9, 66.6%)  Albrecht 2-2, Derks 4-4, Cecich 0-1, Burkholder 0-2.

REBOUNDS:  MERRILLVILLE (24) Patton 5, Macarthy 4, Nwannunu 4, Smith 4, Stapleton 4, Stevens 3;  CROWN POINT (19) Burkholder 5, Derks 4, Albrecht 3, Alavanja 3, Garletts 2, Hanaway 2.

ASSISTS:  MERRILLVILLE (5) Stapleton 3, Patton, White;  CROWN POINT (11) Albrecht 5, Hanaway 4, Derks, Burkholder.

BLOCKED SHOTS:  MERRILLVILLE (3) Nwannunu 2, Stevens;  CROWN POINT (2) Albrecht, Alavanja.

3-GOALS:  MERRILLVILLE (1) Arieus Stephenson;  CROWN POINT (4) Stephen Albrecht 4.

FOULED OUT:  MERRILLVILLE (1) Jonothan Nwannunu (4th Q) 0:59.

CROWN POINT, IN (02-01-2008)  I'm still not certain why it's occurring.  This late-season surge by Crown Point.  This rebirth of the promise this senior-dominated, hugely experienced team had when the season began.  But its happening.  They're not perfect, but they're not losing.  Friday's 56-45 home win over arch-rival Merrillville might not have been the Bulldogs' biggest win of the season, but it was their best.

"This was a great win for us," said CP coach Clint Swan.  "We played well.  It was a good win against a quality team."

And while Zach Cecich and Jacob Burkholder were strong against Merrillville 's big front line and while Ben Derks and Derrick Garletts were effective, there was no getting away from Stephen Albrecht's contribution on this night.  Playing the point guard position almost alternately with fellow senior Kyle Hanaway, Albrecht, CP's 6-foot-2 senior collected 28 points with five assists to help reverse a 52-42 Pirate win over CP in December.

Swan and assistant coach Brian Elston clearly watched tape of the first game when Merrillville seemed to match up very well with CP.  The CP coaches then changed the equation, having Albrecht go head-to-head with Pirate defenders while Hanaway played off the ball instead of the other way around.

"We just wanted a different matchup out there," said Swan, wary of the fact that there could be a third team match up in the post-season.  "Stephen is such a good athlete that he's able to do a lot of things for us.  He was just very good tonight."

The Bulldogs trailed 6-2 when Albrecht hit three consecutive baskets to start a 9-0 run and give CP a 13-7 first quarter edge.  The Bulldogs built a 26-18 second period lead as Merrillville seemed to lack a leader on offense and their big forwards, 6-foot-8 Jonathan Nwannunu and 6-foot-7 Ryan Smith, could not hit short shots on offense.

When Albrecht (18.2 ppg.) hit his fourth three-pointer of the game in the first 10 seconds of the second half, Merrillville coach Jim East called a very quick time out to again remind his boys who CP's leading scorer was.

Pirates senior guards Mario Stapleton and Aerius Stephenson led a Pirate comeback, slashing to the basket in a 9-0 run that gave the Pirates a 41-40 lead wit 6:32 left in the game.  But Albrecht, made a nice feed into 6-foot-8 Jacob Burkholder for the go-ahead CP basket and he then made two plays that boosted CP considerably,

Making a spinning move to his left, Albrecht was confronted by Nwannunu, the 6-foot-8 junior.  The CP senior lofted his shot over Merrillville's center and dropped it in for a 44-41 lead.  The next time down the floor, Albrecht leaned into Stephenson, Merrillville's 6-foot-1 senior, and then dropped in a 15-foot fade-away for a 46-41 edge.  The Pirates, who had won nine games in a row, never recovered.

CP won their fourth consecutive game with its taller starting lineup featuring Burkholder, 6-6 Aleks Alavanja, Cecich, the 6-2 guards Hanaway and Albrecht.  Swan also leaned more heavily on his bench with 6-5 senior Derrick Garletts getting significant playing time.  The Bulldogs in general and Albrecht in particular seemed stronger at the end of games than they did in the first half of the season.

"I think that's because of our bench," Swan said.  "He is strong because we've been getting him some rest in the first half.  He doesn't like it.  He does not ever like it when he's taken out, but he does seem stronger at the end of games."

The Bulldogs held Merrillville to just 14 field goals.  Not all of that was CP's defense, but not all of CP's 42-point performance in the earlier loss was Merrillville's doing.  Chesterton (16-0, 11-0 DAC) clinched a tie for the DAC championship with a 42-41 win over last place Valparaiso (5-11, 2-9) in a slowdown game at Valpo.

DOG NOTES:  This is CP's third win over Merrillville in four years but just their fifth since 1984.  All five of CP's losses are by 10 points or less.  The Bulldogs have defeated 4A No. 10 Merrillville, 4A No. 9 East Chicago and 2A No.7 Winchester (13-3).  Among 390 teams, CP's schedule is ranked 58th toughest in the state.

CP now faces LaPorte (5-10) Thursday, followed by Portage (7-8), Lowell (7-8) and Chesterton (16-0) to finish the regular season.

The Bulldogs were 0-4 last season and finished at 12-9.  Crown Point had drawn Chesterton to begin the playoffs in three of the last four years and CP has played Chesterton at the sectional level four years in a row.  The Bulldogs' game at Chesterton on Feb. 22 with be the 14th meeting of the two schools in five seasons.

Crown Point senior Zach Cecich will play college football at Saginaw Valley State, a high Division II school in central Michigan.

"They offered me a good financial package," he said,  "and they said I had a chance to play right away."

Cecich, CP's starting tight end for three seasons, will play for the same team that has former Lowell star Toby Goetz at fullback.

"There's another kid from Indianapolis," Zach said, "so there's three of us (from Indiana)."

Cecich is going to a picturesque portion of central Michigan and he'll play for one of the top D-II teams in the nation.  A three-time all-area player, Cecich is also stepping into one of the premier college football rivalries in the nation.  Saginaw Valley State (7-4 in 2007)  is the arch rival of four time national Division II champion (2001-2002, 2004-2005) Grand Valley State.

In 2005, SVSU was 11-2 and both losses were to Grand Valley State.  In 2003, SVSU was 12-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation when they lost 10-3 to Grand Valley State.  In 2001, GVSU was 11-1 when they lost to undefeated and top-ranked Grand Valley State.

Unlike Division I's somewhat uneven Bowl Championship Series, Division II football has a 24-team five week national championship tournament won in 2007 by Valdosta, Georgia.

New SVSU coach Jim Collins runs a spread attack much like CP did during Cecich's sophomore and junior seasons.  It's too early to be sure, but the CP senior figures to be a split tight end along the lines of Dallas Clark of the Indianapolis Colts.  Saginaw was 7-3 last year, but to give you an idea of what they expect, that was considered an off season.

Cecich clearly wanted to play for a winning team after three consecutive DAC championships with the Bulldogs.  He knows why it took so long for recruiters to make him an offer he liked.  Cecich, a 6-foot-3 and about 230, isn't the 6-foot-6, 250 pound tight end that the top Division I programs like.

"Exactly," he said.  "Every coach I talked to kept saying, 'If you were three inches taller, we'd take you.  That's all I heard.  I'm glad I'm going to a good program."

Grand Valley State also recruited Cecich, but they reportedly wanted to red shirt him.

"Saginaw said I had a chance to play this year," Zach said.

Stephen Albrecht sank 2-of-2 from the free-throw line Friday.  He is 70 of 77 (90.5%) for the season.

Zach Cecich was 5-of-7 from the floor and is 92-of-134 (68.6%) for the year.  Crown Point committed just nine turnovers against Merrillville and they have only 170 in 16 games.