4A Portage Sectional Quarterfinals - Tuesday, 3-2-2004  at Portage

CHESTERTON (50)  Casey Martin 7-3-17, Josh Malone 3-2-11, Matt Maple 3-0-7, Curt Bradford 3-1-9, Matt Campbell 1-4-6, Adam Nallewig 0-0-0, Jake Morton 0-0-0, Evan Schmidt 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 17-10-50.

FREE THROWS: 10-12, 83.3% percent - Malone 2-3, Campbell 4-5, Martin 3-3, Bradford 1-1.
ASSISTS: Matt Maple - 2
STEALS: Matt Campbell - 2
REBOUNDS: Casey Martin - 8
FOULED OUT: None
3-POINT GOALS (6) Malone 3, Bradford 2, Maple.

CROWN POINT (55)  Aaron Miller 3-2-10, Kyle Ernest 2-0-4, Ryan Brown 3-3-9, Sam Henderson 4-0-11, Seth Henderson 0-0-0, Mark Patrick 1-3-6, Brian Maloney 2-0-6, Jordan 1-0-3, Chachi Albrecht 2-2-6, Mike Smith 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 18-10-55.

FREETHROWS: 10-16, 62.5 % percent - Miller 2-6, Brown 3-4, Patrick 3-4, Albrecht 2-2
REBOUNDS: Mark Patrick - 6
ASSISTS: Aaron Miller - 3
STEALS: Sam Henderson - 2
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (9) Sam Henderson 3, Brian Maloney 2, Aaron Miller 2, Patrick, Jordan Ham.

PORTAGE (3-2-2004) - About the time Crown Point got to the Class 4A Portage Sectional Tuesday night, it was being announced on television that Howard Dean had won the Vermont primary. Wasn't he counted out three weeks ago? Didn't everybody give up on him? Wasn't he totally and unequivocally out of contention for anything?

Crown Point (6-15) lost more times than Howard Dean this year but Tuesday night, they proved they could take a licking and keep on ticking. With the debut of win-or-go-home games in the 94th Indiana State boys basketball tournament, the long suffering Bulldogs proved good enough to stay and play.

CP was the better team in a 55-50 upset of Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) rival Chesterton.

This one was not impossible to see coming. In two DAC meetings during the regular season, CP led by 10 before losing 53-51 in Crown Point and led by 10 again before losing 85-80 in overtime just three days earlier in the regular season finale.

"Friday's game was a very tough loss," said a subdued CP coach Tom Johnson afterwards. "It is very tough to play someone three times no matter whether you've won the first two or lost the first two. We've played Chesterton five times in the last six months. We played them twice in the summer league and I know those games don't count, but we've played them quite a bit."

"All five games were decided by five points or less. There are no secrets. You get away from set plays because the other team knows what they are."

That's where CP excels because the Bulldogs' offense is more a scheme than anything else. The constant picking and screening, looking outward for an open three point shot wears on teams that don't have a lot of quickness or depth.

That's why Chesterton (13-8), a more skilled team than CP, struggled badly with the Bulldogs three times in 2004. CP built a 10-point lead in both of the earlier meetings, but this time they battled to the wire after a 10-2  run gave the Bulldogs a 41-37 lead with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

Baskets by Ryan Brown and Aaron Miller pushed CP to a 45-41 lead with 5:20 left in the game. Chesterton scored five in a row including Casey Martin's lay-up for a 46-45 lead. With the lead, Trojan coach Tom Pellar went to a 2-3 zone defense. The Bulldogs got the ball down low to Brown, the 6-5 junior, who scored on a short shot.

Moments later, junior Chachi Albrecht hit an off balance shot off a pass from Brown for a 49-46 edge. Chesterton never led again.

"We've been a different team," said Johnson, "since Ryan Brown has become a strong inside presence."

Brown scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter including three out of four free throws in the final two minutes. The CP forward had 16 with nine rebounds in the season-ending 85-80 overtime loss to Chesterton three days earlier.

Another key to the win was a gimmick defense the Bulldogs used. CP set up in a 1-3 zone with a 'chaser' following Campbell (17.2 ppg.), the DAC's leading scorer.

When we played them Friday," said Johnson, "he accounted for 55 points. He scored 29 by himself and he had 10 assists. I thought the defense we used was effective on him. We knew we had to limit his touches. That was the defense we used against them the first time we played them (when Campbell scored 18). Friday, we just played it straight."

As the game went on, the Bulldogs had more life. Chesterton won the 85-80 game after trailing by four points with two seconds to play. Mentally, the Trojans were in a tough position coming back 96 hours later to face a team they just stole a game from.

CP, on the other hand, had lost eight DAC games by 10 points or less. Their psychological problem was simply not giving up.

"That's not been an issue with this group," said Johnson. "I've said before that this is the most enjoyable team I've had in my time (8 years) here. They've never given up. I used to be at a place (Oak Hill) where they had a country tournament and you'd see the same teams three times a year. Nobody likes it. Most of the games end up like this. Grinding games."

"It's the same thing we'll have to face Friday. But this is the fun part of the season. This is the exciting part."

DOG NOTES:  Portage rallied to beat Merrillville 68-62 in the other Portage Sectional quarterfinal. Josh Mayo scored 25, but 6-2 senior forward LaVell Cook, who never appeared totally recovered from a preseason leg injury, finished his career with just five points.  Portage's 'gang of four, quick perimeter players Justin Ortiz (21), Buster Battreal (14), and Milton Rivera (13) and 6-4 power forward Kyle Autrey (17) were too much for the Pirates.

Merrillville's traditional defensive weapon, their full court press, was shredded by Portage for fast break baskets in the fourth quarter.

CP is not favored to win the sectional title but one omen says that the Bulldogs' season will not end Friday. The last time Crown Point advanced further than Merrillville in the state tournament was 1998 when CP won their only regional championship. Amazingly, Merrillville has eliminated the Bulldogs at the sectional level in each of the last five seasons and eight of the last nine.

Crown Point junior Sam Henderson took an elbow in the throat from Chesterton's Matt Campbell in the third quarter and had to get medical treatment while the CP cheering section howled. Campbell was frustrated at CP's defense, which held him to just one field goal.

CP had 138 three-point baskets after 21 games, one of the top totals in northwest Indiana. The Bulldogs made 133 three-point baskets in 22 games last season. The 2004 Bulldogs have connected on 44 three-point goals in the last five games. Aaron Miller (8.5 ppg.) has averaged 11.3 in his last three games. CP is 48 of 67 (71.6%) from the line in the last three games.

The crowd in the Portage gym was about 2,500 for the Portage game with Merrillville and 1,500 for the CP-Chesterton game. Hobart players were visible in the balcony sitting together and wearing school colors. Hobart will meet No. 9 Valparaiso (18-2) in the Friday semifinals. If Valpo players and coaches were there (and certainly some were) they were not obvious.

The entire Portage 4A Sectional is being carried on WEFM (95.9) FM and WIMS (1420) AM. The Michigan City Regional championship game on March 13 will be tape-delayed on Comcast Cable and shown on March 15. 

There did not appear to be a major upset in 4A in the northern part of the state. Mishawaka (16-5) and No. 14 Penn (18-3) won and will meet Friday in Elkhart. No. 6 Columbia City (20-3) nipped Warsaw (14-8) at Warsaw. 2003 state champion Pike (18-3) smoked out Ben Davis 71-40 downstate but Broad Ripple upset No. 20 Carmel (15-7) 75-72.  No. 15 Snider (17-3) survived against Northrup 61-55.

CROWN POINT (6-16, 1-13)
Coach Tom Johnson (8th year)

Nov. 26:  W, 56-50 Gavit  (8-11)
Nov. 29:  W, 62-40 Griffith  (11-10)
Dec. 5:  L, 48-78 at LaPORTE (18-3)
Dec. 12: L, 59-60 LAKE CENTRAL (16-5)
Dec. 16: L, 53-56 Valparaiso (18-2)
Dec. 19: L, 46-55 MICHIGAN CITY (2-19)
Jan. 2: L, 32-51 MERRILLVILLE (8-10)
Jan. 6: L, 42-68 at PORTAGE (11-10)
Jan. 9:  L, 51-53 CHESTERTON (13-8)
Jan. 16: L, 56-67 at LAKE CENTRAL (16-5)
Jan. 17:  W, 54-49 South Bend Adams (13-7)
Jan. 23:  W, 56-39 MICHIGAN CITY (2-19)
Jan. 24:  L, 44-58 at East Chicago (11-9)
Jan. 30:  L, 52-62 at VALPARAISO (18-2)
Jan. 31:  L, 38-66 Munster (20-1) 
Feb. 6:  L, 43-51 MERRILLVILLE (9-12)
Feb. 12:  L, 57-68 LaPORTE (18-3)
Feb. 20:  L, 48-53 PORTAGE (11-10)
Feb. 21:  W, 62-53 at Lowell (8-13)
Feb. 27: L, 80-85 at CHESTERTON (13-8)

PORTAGE (4A) SECTIONAL
March 3: W, 55-50 CHESTERTON (13-8) (Quarterfinals)
March 6 (F) at PORTAGE (11-10) (semifinals) - 6 p.m.
March 7 (S) vs. VALPARAISO (19-2) championship

MICHIGAN CITY (4A) REGIONAL
March 14 (S) semifinals - 11 a.m.
March 14 (S) championship - 8 p.m.

Lafayette (4A) Semistate
March 21 (S) one game championship (TBA)

State (4A) Championship
March 28 (S) 7:15 p.m.
at the Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis

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Revised: July 10, 2004 .