CROWN POINT, IN (12-28-2004) - I thought that Crown Point's 67-53 loss to arch-rival Merrillville Tuesday night was not a bad loss.

“I don't know about that,” said Crown Point coach Tom Johnson. “Anytime you lose, it's a bad loss.”

The Bulldogs have only defeated Merrillville twice (they are 2-31) in the last 17 years and they certainly didn't beat the Pirates Tuesday. But the Bulldogs (2-4), who lost for the fourth consecutive game, were competitive against the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) favorite.

But, if these teams are to meet three times this season, there was nothing in the game Tuesday night that would indicate that CP had no chance the next two times these schools get together.

“They scored inside against us,” said coach Jim East, who is proud of his side's man-to-man defense. “That kid number 31 (Ryan Brown) is a load. But we'll concede some things inside. Just so they don't kill us on those threes. That's what they like to do, especially here at home.”

CP, which entered the game with 33 three-point baskets in five games, was held to four bonus baskets. That perimeter defense and the Pirates' extended defense, made the difference. Merrillville's changing press defenses caused 23 CP turnovers, 14 in the first half when Merrillville opened up a 34-26 lead.

The Bulldogs got better in the third quarter and closed the lead to 48-46 after three quarters and 52-48 with seven minutes to play.

At that point, Pirate junior Greg Hill hit a three-point shot off the wing and CP was called for a foul in the foul lane. Merrillville (4-2) retained possession and 6-4 forward Jimmy Reitz scored on a layup. After a missed CP shot, Hill, a 6-3 forward, scored on a quick move inside and the Pirate lead was suddenly 59-48.

“I was pretty pleased with the way we played,” said Johnson, who last topped Merrillville in March of 1998.

“I thought the effort was certainly there. We put a couple of sophomores out there and putting a sophomore in against Merrillville is throwing them to the Wolves.”

The hidden message in this game was one of change.

After a 10-day holiday layoff CP used the same all-senior starting five with Ryan Brown and Brian Maloney up front in front of Sam Henderson, Chachi Albrecht and Mark Patrick. But sophomores Matt Ernest and Danny Bouchee were two of the first four CP boys off the bench signaling a sense of urgency with the Bulldogs season passing the quarter pole.'

“We always have been an inside out team because our big guys have had success inside,” said Johnson, who does not want his team stereotyped as an outside shooting squad. “We've changed a lot of things up this week and, we're going to roll with it. But because of that, we had a little standing around tonight. You can't stand around against anybody but against Merrillville it's even worse.”

The Pirates guards, Josh Mayo, Dennis Howell, James Rowe and Darryl Evans, rattled their CP counter parts in the second quarter when a 13-2 run gave the visitors a 27-19 lead in front of about 750 fans on a holiday week night.

The only consistent offense the Bulldogs had was 6-4 senior center Ryan Brown, who got the ball inside within 10 feet of the baskets and should have scored more than 14 points.

Ernest, the Bulldogs' football wide receiver, clearly gained confidence as the night went on, attacking the Pirate defense from the top of the key. He will very soon be a very difficult player to guard one on one.

“I liked our effort in the third quarter but there were a series of possessions when the score was 48-46 where we didn't get anything done. Hill's a tough match up but they're all tough to match up with. Merrillville's a tough team to score against.”

“I thought Matt Ernest played well. Brownie (Ryan Brown) played extremely well. Danny Bouchee didn't do badly and I thought Mark Patrick played well.”

Merrillville is still on line to regain the DAC title that LaPorte won last season.

“We're the only team with one loss,” East said, before learning that undefeated Valparaiso had lost at Chesterton. “We're looking forward to playing them.”

Despite the 31-2 edge in the rivalry over 17 years, Merrillville is probably not looking ahead to playing CP again. The more times you play someone, the more they can adjust. Merrillville is thinking about wining then DAC. Crown Point is thinking about beating Merrillville. When you're number one league and sectional rival is 31-2 against you, your only questions concern them.

But if Merrillville is 10-15 points better than CP in late December, what will the gap be for the rematch in the regular season finale on Feb. 4 or at the Merrillville Sectional in the second week of February?

That might be too long a look into the future.

“Let's just worry about Gavit,” Johnson smiled.

BULLDOG NOTES:  Gavit was 0-6 before Christmas but they shouldn't have been. “Their really good guard (Josh) Miller was hurt and he's not 100% yet,” reported CP coach Tom Johnson. “They're better than their record.”

Merrillville coach Jim East says he's ash canned the thought of playing star point guard Josh Mayo on the wing occasionally.

“I thought it would be good to have Dennis Howell out front some of the time,” said East. “He's quick and I thought it would work. But in the games against LaPorte and Andrean (Merrillville's two overtime losses) he didn't make good decisions with the ball.”

“Josh is still going to get his points at the point because our offense allows that. It doesn't make him a better player but it does make us a better team.”

Mayo, who will play at UIC in Chicago next fall, hit two three-point field goals in the first half as the Pirates built their lead.

The next time these two teams meet, the game won't go exactly the way it did Tuesday. Merrillville's 6-5 center Dwayne Momon, 6-4 forward Jimmy Reitz and CP's 6-5 forward Brain Maloney all picked up two fouls in the first four minutes and sat out the final eight minutes of the first half.

---

Boys Basketball- The Series: CROWN POINT vs. MERRILLVILLE

Merrillville leads the all-time series 84-44 (since 1908)

Since 1988, Merrillville leads 31-2

Since 1998, Merrillville leads 13-0

12-27-88 - MERRILLVILE 71, Crown Point 64

1-21-89 - MERRILLVILLE 71, Crown Point 50

3-3-89 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 43, Crown Point 42

12-23-89 – MERRILLVILLE 74, Crown Point 61

1-20-90 – MERRILLVILLE 69, Crown Point 58

3-2-90 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 66, Crown Point 45

12-28-91 – MERRILLVILLE 57, Crown Point 53

1-19-91 – MERRILLVILLE 66, Crown Point 55

1-25-92 – MERRILLVILLE 66, Crown Point 54

1-23-93 - MERILLVILLE 68, Crown Point 60

3-5-93 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 68, Crown Point 49

1-21-94 – CROWN POINT 55, Merrillville 51

1-20-95 – MERILLVILLE 67, Crown Point 47

3-3-95 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 64, Crown Point 37

1-19-96 – MERRILLVILLE 46, Crown Point 43

3-2-96 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 72, Crown Point 62

1-24-97 – MERRILLVILLE 62, Crown Point 61

2-27-97 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 70, Crown Point 55

1-23-98 - MERRILLVILLE 54, Crown Point 47

3-6-98 (playoff) CROWN POINT 60, Merrillville 49

1-22-99 - MERRILLVILLE 69, Crown Point 63

3-5-99 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 64, Crown Point 39

1-8-2000 – MERRILLVILLE 70, Crown Point 47

3-7-2000 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 58, Crown Point 43

1-6-2001 -- MERRILLVILLE 52, Crown Point 41

3-10-2001 - MERRILLVILLE 59, Crown Point 41

1-5-2002 - MERRILLVILLE 56, Crown Point 55

2-26-2002 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 64, Crown Point 59

1-11-2003 – MERRILLVILLE 53, Crown Point 43

3-8-2003 (playoff) MERRILLVILLE 70, Crown Point 56

12-19-2004 – MERRILLVILLE 51, Crown Point 32

2-6-4 – MERRILLVILLE 51, Crown Point 43

12-28-4 - MERRILLVILLE 67, Crown Point 53

Next match-up: 2-4-2005 - Crown Point at Merrillville

---

CROWN POINT (2-4)

Coach Tom Johnson, 6-16 in 2003-2004

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT/ TIME	USA-365.com Broadcast Time
Nov. 27	at Griffith {3A}	W, 66-36
Dec. 3	LaPorte {4A}‡	W, 69-57	7:15 PM
Dec. 10	at Lake Central {4A}‡	L, 61-64
Dec. 14	at Valparaiso {4A}‡	L, 35-55
Dec. 17	Michigan City {4A}‡	L, 51-55	7:15 PM
Dec. 28	Merrillville {4A}‡	L, 53-67	7:15 PM
Dec. 30	at Hammond Gavit {3A}	7:30 pm
Jan. 4	Portage {4A}‡	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
Jan. 7	at Chesterton {4A}‡	7:30 pm
Jan. 14	Lake Central {4A}‡	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
Jan. 15	at South Bend Adams {4A}	7:30 pm
Jan. 21	at Michigan City {4A}‡	7:30 pm
Jan. 22	East Chicago Central {4A}	7:30 pm
Jan. 28	Valparaiso {4A}‡	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
Jan. 29	at Munster {4A}	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
Feb. 4	at Merrillville {4A}‡	7:30 pm
Feb. 10	at LaPorte {4A}‡	7:30 pm
Feb. 18	at Portage {4A}‡	7:30 pm
Feb. 19	Lowell {4A}	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
Feb. 25	Chesterton {4A}‡	7:30 pm	7:15 PM
‡DUNELAND CONFERENCE GAME

Merrillville (4-2)

Coach: Jim East, 405-172 in 25th year at school, 549-294 in 37th year overall

Copyright © 2004 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: December 29, 2004 .