Albrecht's 26 points leads Bulldogs to 59-48 win over neighboring Lowell Red Devils

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith
2-20-2006

Saturday, 2-18-2006  Non-conference boys basketball at Lowell, IN

CROWN POINT (8-11)  Danny Bouchee 3-2-8, Zach Cecich 3-3-9, Keith Dean 2-4-8, Andrew Krumwied 2-0-4, Aleks Alavanja 0-0-0, Stephen Albrecht 9-5-26, Kyle Hanaway 1-0-2, Michael Kvachkoff 1-0-2, Ben Derks 0-0-0, Jacob Burkholder 0-0-0, Mitchell Robinson 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 21 (14-22) 59.

LOWELL (48)  Kyle Metz 1-3-5, Nate Korth 3-0-7, Robert Cusic 3-0-6, Ryan Lindemer 5-0-10, Josh Kuiper 1-0-2, Mike Weiand 4-4-13, Joe Kerwin 1-0-2, Austin Hamm 1-0-2, Eli Macis 0-1-1, Ted Macis 0-0-0, Aaron Corns 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 19 (8-13) 48.

FREE THROWS:  CP (14-22, 63.1%)  Bouchee 2-2, Albrecht 5-6, Cecich 3-4, Dean 4-4, Alavanja 0-2, Kvachkoff 0-2, Krumwied 0-2.   LOWELL (8-13, 53.7%) Weiand 4-5, Macis 2-2, Metz 2-2, Hamm 0-2, Korth 0-1, Cusic 0-1.

TURNOVERS:  CP (3-2-3-7) 15;  LOWELL (3-1-3-3) 10.

3-GOALS:  CP (3) Stephen Albrecht 3; LOWELL (2) Mike Weiand, Nate Korth.

LOWELL (2-18-2006)  Lowell and Crown Point are two teams with the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Admittedly in high school sports, everyone is assumed to be headed for the sunny side of the street.  But certainly, that could be the case here.

Crown Point uses four sophomores and two juniors regularly. They have small college size in the making and more than one potential floor leader.  Lowell's virtues are less clear.  But the Devils have a half dozen guards who are not seniors, two solid junior forwards and three 6-foot-4 players who have more than a year of eligibility left.  And, for a lot of reasons, if only that they figure to start the season before mid-December, next year will be better than this one.

But in the last week of the 2006 season, both were below .500 and looking to get a little bit better.  And they both did.

Crown Point got off to a quick start and Lowell played strong in the second and fourth periods as the Bulldogs won 59-48 at Lowell late Saturday night.  It was another good night for 6-2 sophomore guard Stephen Albrecht.

"He has great teammates who get him the ball," said first year CP coach Shaun Busick, who doesn't like to single out one player over another.

"He had a great game tonight. I thought Keith Dean made some great passes.  Kyle Hanaway. Danny (Bouchee) All our guards did a great job of distributing the the ball.  That's how we're going to be successful."

Albrecht hit three, three-point baskets off the wing inside a 13-point first quarter.  With Hanaway, Dean and Bouchee occupying the Lowell defense in the middle of the floor, Albrecht, who has moved from the point to the wing this season, got good shots.

"He had 17 in the first half," said Busick, "and nine in the second. Our guys did a good job of recognizing that he was scoring and getting the ball to him."

Lowell did not look good early, trailing 19-7 and 21-9.  But senior Ryan Lindemer scored the final three baskets of the half on mid-range jump shots to pull the Devils within five points at the half.

Crown Point built a 13-point lead late in the third quarter, but Lowell was again within seven with 4:10 to play.  Mike Weiand had 13 points, eight rebounds, two blocked shots and a couple of steals.  Lindemer finished with 10.  Robert Cusic and Josh Kuiper combined for  five assists and, as always, they'd have had more if Lowell had shot the ball better.

"We 're just trying to get better," said Lowell coach Mike Magley.  "It's the little things that decide close games. Crown Point played a lot better tonight than they did last night (a 52-51 upset loss to Portage).  We just have to continue on.  We're upset that we lost.  But you have to use that as motivation."

Lowell is still shuffling 10 players in and out of the lineup and that's clearly what Magley wants to do.

"We're playing who's playing well," he said.  Lindemer played well tonight and he got a lot of minutes.  We got good looks again.  We've got to hit some key shots.  But I thought we looked a lot better tonight than we have."

Crown Point played 6-3 Zach Cecich and 6-5 Andy Krumwied together to get key rebounds.

"I think Andy (Krumwied) played his best game of the year.  I like his enthusiasm and positive energy.  I just told them our goal was to win each quarter and I was pleased that we won the second half."

Lowell still has offensive problems and drawing independent power East Chicago in a Tuesday night quarterfinal to open the state tournament did not help matters.

"The seniors we have are doing everything we ask," Magley said, "and that's all I can ask."  

CP-LOWELL NOTES:  Neither Lowell or Crown Point got a quarterfinal sectional bye in the first round of the state tournament.  Crown Point drew Portage (2-17), a team they lost to 52-51 last Friday (2-17-2006), in the quarterfinals of the Chesterton Sectional.  Lowell drew East Chicago in the quarterfinals of the East Chicago Sectional.  That game will be played Tuesday in Lowell at 7:00 p.m.

There was a long pre-game presentation of football state championship rings and medals between the junior varsity and varsity games Saturday night.  The Crown Point people didn't seem to mind Lowell celebrating their state football title.  Every player on the Lowell varsity got a state title ring and everyone else connected to the program got medals.  

"This is probably the last time we'll all be together," said coach Kirk Kennedy to the crowd of about 1,000. "I just want to say thanks to everyone who supported us this year and every year."

Kennedy said that all-state safety Jeff Clemens has attracted interest from Joliet Junior College which would prepare him academically for a hoped-for Division I career.  Clemens is no longer with the Lowell basketball team and it is unlikely he can qualify to attend a Division I school this year.  Clemens, who was voted NW Indiana's defensive player of the year, was one of the 10 finalists for state player of the year after a dominant performance in Lowell's 28-27 upset of three-time defending state champion Roncalli last November.

Halfback Scott Gray, who ran for 2,000 yards his senior season, has heard from the NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis but he is also reportedly being considered by St. Francis of Fort Wayne, which has gone 13-1 and lost in the NAIA National championship game the last two seasons. A familiar name appears on the St. Francis web site of 2006 recruits... East Noble halfback Konrad Mundon whose fourth quarter TD run defeated Gray and Lowell 20-13 in the 2003 regional championship game.  Andean offensive lineman Breandan Carragher has already committed to St. Francis.

After averaging about eight points a game in the first 15 CP contests, 6-2 sophomore guard Stephen Albrecht scored 21 in game 16 against Boone Grove, 21 in game 17 against Merrillville and 26 in game 19 against Lowell.  He is the only Crown Point player with three 20-point games this season.

Crown Point's Jacob Burkholder, the 6-foot-7 sophomore, has played very little on the varsity this season but he wasn't expected to. Unless lots of people are 100% wrong, Burkholder, whose dad, 6-11 Brett Burkholder played at TF North high school and DePaul University, will play considerably in the next two seasons.

"Jacob is doing okay," reports CP coach Shaun Busick. "I think he's given us good minutes. I'm pleased with his progression."

Crown Point doesn't want to say it out loud, but if they get to the finals of the Chesterton Sectional next week, they'd obviously like to play Merrillville (14-5), as opposed to Valparaiso (17-2).  It's all about matchups.  CP does not match up well with Valparaiso, as Valpo's 61-25 and 71-46 Duneland Conference wins over Crown Point would indicate.  Even though Merrillville has split with Valpo, the Pirates have only defeated CP 71-62 and 62-60 and the Bulldogs don't fear a third meeting.

"Our guys know that," Busick said. "We believe that."

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Revised: February 22, 2006 .