A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith
1-1-2005

Thursday, 12-30-2004 - at Cedar Lake

LOWELL (29) Shaun Hlad 0-2-2, Scott Schulz 3-0-7, Kyle Metz 1-0-3, Ryan Lindemer 1-1-3, William Tagte 1-2-4, Mike Weiand 1-6-8, Josh Kuiper 1-0-2,Nate Korth 0-0-0, Austin Hamm 0-0-0, Ben Drawbaugh 0-0-0, Joe Kerwin 0-0-0. TOTALS: 8-11-29.

HANOVER (43) Jacob Rush 4-1-10, Eric Gross 5-0-10, Jeremy Peterson 4-1-10, Greg Shroka 3-0-6, Billy Nordyke 2-0-4, Mike Wendlinger 1-1-3, Larry Pempek 0-0-0, Charlie Huffnagle 0-1-1, Mark Myszkowski 0-0-0, Eric Allen 0-0-0, Jake Huppenthal 0-0-0, Stephen Goff 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-4-43.

FREE THROWS: Lowell (11-18, 61.1%) Hlad 2-3, Weiand 6-6, Tatge 2-4, Kerwin 0-2, Lindemer 1-2, Kuiper 0-1.
HANOVER (4-13, 30.7%) Huffnagle 1-2, Rush 1-2, Gross 0-2, Allen 0-2, Peterson 1-2, Myszkowski 0-2, Wendlinger 1-1.

REBOUNDS: LOWELL (26) Weiand 5, Tatge 4, Hamm 3, Lindemer 3, Schulz 2, Hlad 2, Korth 2, Kerwin 2, Metz 2, Kuiper.
HANOVER (26) Gross 8, Rush 7, Nordyke 7, Shroka 3, Wendlinger.

ASSISTS: LOWELL (5) Kuiper 2, Schulz 2, Korth. HANOVER (13) Shroka 5, Peterson 3, Rush 2, Huppenthal, Wendlinger, Pempek.

STEALS: LOWELL (8) Weiand 5, Schulz 2, Kuiper; HANOVER (13) Peterson 4, Pempek 3, Shroka 2, Gross 2, Rush, Huffnagle.

TURNOVERS (by quarters):  LOWELL (5-5-5-4) 19, HANOVER (1-2-6-5) 14

THREE-POINT BASKETS: LOWELL (2) Schulz, Metz; HANOVER (1) Rush.

FOULED OUT: NONE

CEDAR LAKE, IN (12-30-2004) - I don't even think the National Basketball Association (NBA) allows teams to play three games in three nights anymore. The Players Association outlawed it as cruel and unusual scheduling.

Thursday's Hanover Central home game with Lowell, HC's third game in three nights, certainly was unusual, but only the visiting Red Devils found the results harsh. Hanover defeated their southern neighbor 43-29 in what can politely be called a defensive struggle before about 1,000 fans in the annual Holiday season meeting between the two teams.

The Wildcats broke a six-game losing streak with a spirited, if offensively challenged effort, while the Devils (1-6) hit rock bottom, trailing 33-12 after three quarters before awakening for a promising fourth quarter.

'Defensively, we played well tonight,” said Hanover coach Dave Uran. “Offensively, we still have some problems but the effort was there.”

“In the last quarter, we had guys who are were trying to step up and be aggressive,” said Mike Magley, who appreciates the value of staying positive in trying times. “Too often, when something bad happens to us, we let it affect us for awhile. We get three guys doing the right thing and two of them don't. Or we get two doing the right thing and three of them don't.”

“Obviously, the last group started getting in the right spots. Once we do that, we're fine. Defensively we weren't bad. We weren't as good as I'd like but most of their points came on our turnovers.”

“That's the problem. We have great kids, but they're letting little things bother them.”

The Cedar Lake crowd was in a holiday mood and it was a special Hanover night with the 2004 state champion softball team returning to accept their championship rings. The Wildcats responded by scoring 11 consecutive points for an 11-2 first quarter lead. Kyle Metz' three-point shot cut the lead to 13-7 with 5:31 left in the half but a 9-1 run into the locker room gave HC a 22-8 lead after two quarters.

The Devils could not figure out Hanover's 3-2 zone. Lowell could not get the ball into the corners or into the middle to pull the zone out of position. They just didn't have the precision to get it there. No one is shocked that the Devils have had major problems in the first half of the season. Lowell still resembles a team which graduated its top six players from last year and has had the seventh player (junior Jeff Clemens) out all year with a knee injury.

“I tell them,” said Magley. “If you worry about a mistake, you'll make another one. Sometimes they even would do the right thing and it would turn out wrong. But you have to keep doing it.”

The third quarter was painful to watch as HC scored the first seven points for a 28-8 lead and the Wildcats expanded the lead to 41-16 largely due to fast break points by 6-2 Greg Shroka, 6-1 Jacob Rush and 6-4 junior Eric Gross.

“This was the first time we've really had our entire team out there,” said Uran. “We had Greg at the staRt of the year, but we didn't have Billy Nordyke, our center. Then, we get Billy back and Greg breaks his nose. He just came back tonight.”

HC is breaking in freshman point guard Charlie Huffnagle, who played less than half the game Thursday, for two reasons. The other lead guards, Shroka and Larry Pempek, truly do not play that position, and Huffnagle will be asked to lead an all-new HC team next season, so he needs to play now.

“We think he's a special player,” said Uran. “When Greg got hurt, what else were we going to do?”

Hanover lost 62-44 to Wheeler in the Wheeler Holiday Tournament semifinals on Tuesday (Dec. 28). They lost 81-53 to Hammond high Wednesday and then played Lowell Tuesday night.

“I don't remember Hanover ever playing three games in three nights,” said Uran, who played for HC in the mid-80s. “We were worried about that. But for the most part, the concentration was there.”

The difference in this game might have been seniors. Both teams have had problems with scoring and inexperience, but five of Hanover's top six players are seniors who can grind out some wins. Lowell has a promising sophomore and junior class but the Devils have just three seniors and Scott Schulz is really Lowell's only senior who played at all last season. It may have been no coincidence that Schulz, the football quarterback, was on the floor in the fourth quarter when a very young gang of five put 17 points on the board.

“Mike Weiand, Scotty Schulz, Nate Korth, Ryan Lindemer and Josh Kuiper,” detailed Magley. “There's three sophomores there. But we've been looking for a group that works well together. The good things was, we got to work on game situations in the fourth quarter. Scoring and calling time out. Fouling to regain possession.”

“But we do have trouble with execution. There's going to be a breakout game where we're going to do a lot of things right. But we may not win that game. Our schedule gets a lot tougher now. I geared it up that way on purpose because we don't just want to show up at the sectional. We want to have a chance.”

“I don't want anybody to feel sorry for us. The Lowell program is in good shape. We just need some time.”

NET NOTES:  Hanover Central is not a good foul shooting team (94-169, 55.5%) with four exceptions. Senior Greg Shroka (14.6 ppg.), who has been slowed after missing three games with a broken nose, is a team-leading 17 of 18 (94%) in free shots. Senior Jacob Rush, who has played all eight games, is 24 of 30 (80%). Freshman Charlie Huffnagle is 10 of 12 (83.3%) in eight games, impressive numbers for an apprentice point guard. Reserve Stephen Goff is 10 of 14 (71%). Some quick subtraction of these four boys numbers from the overall total (the rest of the team is 33 of 95) indicates the magnitude of the charity stripe problems.

“We were 4-of-13 at the line tonight,” said coach Dave Uran. “We can't win any games like that.”

Lowell freshman guard Robert Cusic was not at the Hanover game. The part-time starter who was a varsity tennis player last fall, was out of town on a Christmas vacation. Cusic should be back for Friday's game with Wheeler (5-3).

There is still talk of a Hanover-Lowell Holiday Tournament with both schools undergoing renovations of their athletic facilities. “I talked to (Lowell coach) Mike Magley about that,” Uran said. “We play each other every year over the holidays anyway. We're going to have a new gym next year although I don't know for sure that it will be ready by next Christmas.”

“Out contract at Wheeler (the Wheeler Holiday Tournament) was for two years so it has run out. If we could bring in two other teams were could play an extra game.”

The most obvious matchups could include North Newton, North Judson or Kankakee Valley, all of which are rivals in some way. North Judson and Lowell were both members of the old Northwest Hoosier Conference, which broke up in 1997.

“We could even get some Illinois teams,” Uran said. “We play Beecher and the girls play Momence. They might want to come.”

A four team tournament with natural rivals KV, North Newton, Hanover Central and Lowell could average 500 fans a game even in a down year. Hanover Central is very familiar with the eight-team, two-day girls tournament that Momence runs every Christmas. With the proximity of HC and Lowell, the schools could alternate as host with the opposite school hosting four consolation games involving the first down losers. An eight team tournament could be a big money maker. If each team drew an average of 250 paying fans to each winners' bracket games (only diehards attend consolation games), eight games involving rivals could draw 4,000 fans. At $3 a fan, that could put the funds back into fund-raising.

Due to a very archaic rule, Indiana prep basketball teams are allowed to play in two tournaments per year. Hanover plays in the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament while Lowell is in the Lake Athletic Conference tournament. Lowell has not played in a holiday tournament in the last decade but Magley has previously said that the Red Devils cannot not drop regular season games against sectional foes Highland, Lake Central, Gary West Side and Munster if they hope to defeat those teams in Sectional 1 in March every year.

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HANOVER CENTRAL (2-6)

Coach: Dave Uran, 25-27 in 3rd year at school

DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT / TIME	OTHER INFO
Nov. 23	at Lake Station {2A}	W   56-  53
Nov. 27	at South Newton {1A}	L   59-  61
Dec. 3	Hebron {1A}‡	L   48-  64
Dec. 10	at Washington Twp. {1A}‡	L   46-  58
Dec. 17	at South Central (Union Mills) {1A}‡	L   50-  54
Dec. 28	at Wheeler {2A}	L   44-  62	tournament
Dec. 29	(n)Hammond {3A}	L   53-  81	tournament
Dec. 30	Lowell {4A}	W   43-  29
Jan. 4	at Whiting {1A}	7:30 pm
Jan. 7	Boone Grove {2A}‡	7:30 pm
Jan. 11	at Beecher (Ill.)	7:30 pm
Jan. 13	Hammond Gavit {3A}	7:30 pm
Jan. 19	Porter County Conference Tournament		through Jan. 22
Jan. 28	Morgan Twp. {1A}‡	7:30 pm
Jan. 29	at North Newton {2A}	7:30 pm
Feb. 4	LaCrosse {1A}‡	7:30 pm
Feb. 9	Hammond Clark {3A}	7:30 pm
Feb. 18	at Kouts {1A}‡	7:30 pm
Feb. 25	at River Forest {1A}	7:30 pm
‡PORTER COUNTY CONFERENCE GAME

LOWELL (1-6)

Coach: Mike Magley, 30-44 in 4th year at school

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Revised: January 01, 2005 .