Crown Point boys defeat MC 67-55, while Lady Bulldogs fall 60-54 to Wolves in DAC basketball double-header

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-25-2009

Friday, 01-23-2009 -  Boys Basketball, Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) at MICHIGAN CITY, IN

CROWN POINT (67) Michael Albrecht 2-4-9, Scooter Jacobus 1-1-3, Nik Pusara 2-3-7, Chris Lakich 1-6-8, Brady Schuster 4-0-8, Nate Akers 1-1-3, Jared Smoot 0-2-2,  CJ Mantel 6-2-17, Michael Lipton 3-4-10,  TOTALS:  20 (23-33) 67.

MICHIGAN CITY (55) Adam Harmon 5-1-14, Shereff Knight 3-0-6, Jevar Washington 1-0-3,   Brandon Pawloski 3-2-8, Carlos McCormick 2-1-6, Darrell Hopkins 6-6-18, Will Razor 0-0-0, Brady Burns 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  20 (10-23) 55.

FREE THROWS:  CP (23-33, 69.7%) Albrecht 4-6, Lipton 4-5, Pusara 3-4, Lakich 6-6, Smoot 2-2, Mantel 2-2, Jacobus 1-2, Akers 1-4, Schuster 0-2;  MICH. CITY (10-23, 43.5%) Hopkins 6-14, Pawloski 2-3, Harmon 1-2, McCormack 1-2, Burns 0-1, Razor 0-1.

REBOUNDS:  CP (28) Lakich 9, Pusara 4, Akers 4, Schuster 4, Jacobus 2, Albrecht 2, Lipton 2, Mantel;   MICH. CITY (27)    Hopkins 12, Harmon 4, Pawloski 4, Knight 2, Washington 2, McCormack, Razor, McCormick.

ASSISTS:  CP (13) Albrecht 6, Akers 2, Mantel 2, Lipton 2, Jacobus;  MICH CITY (12) Harmon 4, Knight 4, Hopkins 3,  Washington.

STEALS:  CP (8) Schuster 3, Albrecht 2, Mantel 2, Lipton; MICH. CITY (7) Pawloski 3, Knight, Harmon, McCormick, Hopkins.

TURNOVERS:  CP (17), MICH. CITY (18).

FOULED OUT:  CP (0); MICH. CITY (1) Shereff Knight (4th Q) :06 left.

3-GOALS:  CP (4) CJ Mantel 3, Michael Albrecht; MICH. CITY (5) Adam Harmon 3, Javar Washington, Carlos McCormack.

Friday, 01-23-2009 -  Girls Basketball, Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) at MICHIGAN CITY, IN

CROWN POINT (54) Maegen Maloney 1-0-3, Flori Garcia 1-0-2, Daniela Tarailo 7-0-15, Sydnee Reeves 4-4-12, Alle Geisen 3-3-9, Zarah Cecich 4-1-9, Courtney Kvachkoff 2-0-4, Clare Grubnich 0-0-0, Madeline Moore 0-0-0.   TOTALS: 22 (8-14) 54.

MICHIGAN CITY (60) Essence Robinson 5-0-11, TaKenya Nixon 7-1-15, Joslyn Edwards 5-1-11, Bianca McGee 6-4-18, Angelique Moore 2-1-5, Maggie Gondeck 0-0-0, Kelsey Pawloski 0-0-0, Jazzmine Ellis 0-0-0, Ashleigh Ellenwood 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  25 (7-13) 60.

FREE THROWS:  CP (8-14, 57.1%) Reeves 4-6, Geisen 3-5, Cecich 1-2, Tarailo 0-1; MICH CITY (7-13, 53.8%) McGee 4-4, Nixon 1-2, Moore 1-3, Edwards 1-3, Robinson 0-1.

REBOUNDS:  CP (27) Reeves 8, Maloney 5, Moore 4, Cecich 4, Kvachkoff 2, Garcia 2, Tarailo 2;   MICH. CITY (34) Nixon 9, Edwards 7, Moore 6, McGee 4, Robinson 3, Gondeck 2, Richard 2, Ellenwood.

ASSISTS:  CP (19) Tarailo 5, Maloney 5, Garcia 4, Reeves 2, Geisen 2, Cecich;  MICH. CITY (19) Nixon 8, McGee 7, Edwards 2, Moore, Robinson.

STEALS:  CP (9) Tarailo 3, Reeves 2, Garcia, Geisen, Moore, Cecich; MICH CITY (11) Nixon 3, Robinson 2, Edwards 2, McGee, Richard. Moore, Ellenwood.

BLOCKED SHOTS:  CP (2) Cecich 2, MC (1) Moore.

3-GOALS:  CP (2) Daniela Tarailo, Maegen Maloney; MICH CITY (3) Bianca McGee 2, Essence Robinson.

MICHIGAN CITY (1-23-2009) In the final boys/girls double-header of the season, Michigan City's girls closed in on the Duneland Athletic (DAC) championship while Crown Point's boys stared their toughest span of the season with a win and everyone came out with a few positives for the hard, cold weeks ahead.

The Wolves moved to within one victory of the DAC title with a 60-54 win over Crown Point's girls, who lost their fourth game in a row.  Then, in a role reversal, MC's boys lost for the ninth consecutive time, chasing but never catching CP in an entertaining 67-55 shootout.

CP (7-5, 4-5 DAC) won't be winning the DAC boys title this season, but they did improve to 4-2 on the road and 1-0 at Michigan City, the site not only of CP's 2008 sectional title, but the site of the 2009 Class 4A Sectional 2 in March.  CP's boys are 5-1 on the floor of the 7,000-seat Michigan City gym in the last two seasons and 4-0 now against the Wolves overall.

"This was a tough win on the road," said CP coach Clint Swan.  "A lot of things happened to us tonight and we overcame them.  That's what you have to do away from home."

Michigan City's girls had a big night.  An early 12-0 first quarter run and an 11-4 spurt in the third quarter gave the Wolves their ninth Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) victory on a night where senior Bianca McGee was honored for scoring her 1,000th point in four varsity seasons.  But Crown Point again played the soon-to-be DAC champs close, pulling within 55-52 with 1:01 left and 57-54 with 40 seconds to go.

CP did lose for the seventh time in eight games and they were mathematically eliminated from all possible first place scenarios.  But, if you got to the gym at halftime, the Lady Bulldogs  looked like a team that could beat MC and win the sectional.  If they still think so.

"That's up to the girls," said second year coach Scott Reid.  "I think so.  I think that's how they'll think, but I don't know.  They're down now.  But, I told them... Please don't forget the positives because there were a ton of positives."

The biggest one was 5-foot-11 senior guard Sydnee Reeves, who was 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line to total 12 points to go with eight rebounds and just one turnover in 24 minutes of play.  She was very good against the DAC's top team.

Sophomore Zarah Cecich, CP's 5-foot-11 volleyball standout, scored nine with four rebounds and two blocked shots in 23 minutes.  She seems to be improving with experience and also seemed to thrive on MC's quick pace.

"Sydnee was attacking the basket tonight," said Reid.  "Zarah's playing well.  We had some kids step up and score tonight.  We need someone other than Daniela (Tarailo) with eight, nine, 10 points.  That's what we got tonight."

Cecich scored six of CP's eight third quarter points as the home team built a 14-point edge.  But the Wolves were impatient and CP mounted a rally.  Reeves, who has had shooting problems, scored eight in the fourth quarter, including 4-of-5 from the line.  Alle Geisen added five and Maegen Maloney came off the bench to hit a three-point shot to cut the lead to 55-49.

Nixon, a 5-foot-10 point guard. was the difference.  Despite six turnovers, she led an attack that had four double figure scorers.  The Bulldogs could not handle 5-foot-11 Jocelyn Edwards, who had 11 points and seven rebounds and 5-foot-9 Essence Robinson who had 11 with four boards.  Michigan City is the bigger, faster team, but the question of how much better they are may await a third meeting in the sectional.

"We got impatient on defense," said Reid.  "Show patience on defense as well as on offense.  Don't lunge at them.  They'll go by you.  We're up in their face 35 feet from the basket. They're not gong to hurt us out there.  But they certainly will when they drive past you."

Michigan City's Division I guards Takenya Nixon (15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and Bianca McGee (22 points, four rebounds, seven assists), both headed to Eastern Illinois University, sparked MC when they needed it.  But the Wolves (14-3) have defeated CP twice now, by nine and six points, and neither was anything like the 19 and 42-point whippings MC put on CP last year.  This was the seventh consecutive win for MC over Crown Point, but they didn't convince CP they'd have no chance in a third matchup at next month's Class 4A Chesterton Sectional.

"They (MC) played better than they did last time," said Reid.  "For us, we cannot simulate that speed.  That's why we started in a zone.  Lets give them credit.  I thought they played really well.  But we had a lot of positives and we're going to take the positives and get back to work."

Crown Point's boys held off multiple Michigan City rallies and worked through severe foul trouble for the 12-point decision.  CP's boys won at the foul line where they were 23 of 33 (69.7%) and Michigan City was 10 of 23 (43.5%).  But senior CJ Mantel gave the Bulldogs an initial lift with 11 first half point to help boost CP from a 4-0 deficit to a 25-12 lead.  When Michigan City's 6-foot-6 center Darrell Hopkins (18 points, 12 rebounds) and 5-foot-9 junior guard Adam Harmon (12 points, four assists) led repeated rallies, the Bulldogs got just enough defense from 6-foot-5 senior backup center Chris Lakich and 6-foot guard Scooter Jacobus to ride the winning bus home on another cold Northwest Indiana winter night.

"Scooter came of the bench and he was able to stay in front of him (Harmon)," said Swan.  "He did a tremendous job for us.  He has a knack for keeping a gut in front of him and still being able to contest his shot.  That's his bread and butter."

"Chris Lakich (8 points, 9 rebounds) came on when Nate and Jared got into foul trouble and we had to play some guys out of position.  Hopkins is a load out there.  Chris was able to keep him off the boards.  CJ got a lot of points early and when you look back, those were big points."

Michigan City's Bob Buscher has seen a couple of varsity players drop off the squad for varied reasons this year and he's playing two freshmen guards -- Carlos McCormack and Javar Washington -- with Harmon and soph Shereff Knight.  It's a work in progress and the benefits might not come this season.

"We have to stay positive," said Buscher, a 15-year coaching veteran, who is at Michigan City for just his second season.  "But they have to do more of what we ask them to do.  That means block out.  Work on your shot more.  We watch video tape but we can't watch tape for very long because they just don't have a very long attention span.  The juniors and seniors, I know I'm not going to change them.  But I'm still trying with them in terms of being good people and good citizens."

"We have to block out.  We're too small to rebound otherwise.  Too small and too thin.  We have to make the extra pass and we don't want to.  Even free throws.  We want to use the 'Valparaiso method'.  You set and shoot.  We teach it.  But in the game, they don't do it.  And we've got to finish.  I've never had a team that gets more shots in the lane.  But we can't finish."

Crown Point has four road games beginning Jan. 31 with Boone Grove (8-2), Merrillville (9-3) LaPorte (6-8) and Portage (4-9) and those games may reveal their post-season chances.

CP NOTES:  The roof at Michigan City, the home of the 4A boys sectional and regional, has a leak and play had to be stopped several times to towel off the basketball floor.

"There's a lot of ice up there," said an MC official.  "And you can't get up there right now to do anything about it.  When it melts, we're getting leaks."

The girls state tournament draw comes up Thursday Jan. 29, the day before CP's game at Valparaiso.  The home finale is Tuesday, Jan. 27 against LaPorte.

The Lady Bulldogs final portion of the season has been difficult ever since the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) went to the double-round robin 14-game league schedule five seasons ago.  CP is 6-15 in January in the last four seasons and it's no real surprise.  The way the schedule is, the Lady Bulldogs have met perennial DAC powers Valparaiso, Michigan City and Merrillville twice in the last 10 games of two 20-game seasons in each of the last four years.

Freshman Javar Washington made his home debut.  He made five turnovers, but he scored three with a blocked shot and two rebounds.

"We have three freshmen on the varsity," said Michigan City coach Bob Buscher, who no longer has senior DaQuavay Sherrod and a couple of others in uniform.  "That was Javar's first start and he's really got a chance to develop," said Buscher.  "He's long.  He's quick.  But he still does a lot of things wrong.  He denies with the wrong hand.  And when you do that, the guy is gone right by you."

Buscher is holding up well through the losing streak, but he's finding last place in the DAC a rough spot to be.

"I'm always going to be intense," he said.  "I'm passionate about the game.  We're still trying to get them to do what we ask.  I did a better job tonight.  I did a poor job against Chesterton (a 72-49 defeat on Jan. 16).  Why, I don't know.   I didn't feel good.  Well, you now what.  Everybody's got problems.  We all have excuses and you've still got to play.  We've got to support each other.  There are still so many things we've got to work on."

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Revised: January 26, 2009 .