Hobart edges Lowell 42-37 in Boys Basketball

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-19-2009

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
HOBART (2-4)	10	5	11	16	42
LOWELL (1-3)	10	5	8	14	37

Friday, December 18, 2009 - Northwest Crossroads Conference opener at LOWELL, IN

HOBART (42) Nick Lafty 2-1-6, Russell Jensen 0-2-2, Kevin McCann 3-3-9, Matt Brown 1-0-3, Robert Woods 6-6-22, George Georgos 0-0-0, Sean Taddei 0-0-0, Richard Casson 0-0-0, Brandon Harris 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12 (12-22) 42.

LOWELL (37) Joe Bell 2-1-5, Ray Skamay 3-4-10, Austin Richie 5-7-18, Craig Austgen 1-0-2, Kyle Richwalski 1-0-2, David Stang 0-0-0, Matt Hillbrich 0-0-0, Austin Magley 0-0-0, Jason Parker 0-0-0, Cole Midgett 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12 (12-20) 37.

FREE THROWS: HOBART (12-22, 54.5%) Robert Woods 6-6, Nick Lafty 1-5, Russell Jensen 2-2, Kevin McCann 3-6, Matt Brown 0-2, Sean Taddei 0-1. LOWELL (12-20, 60%) Joe Bell 1-5, Ray Skamay 4-4, Austin Richie 7-9, David Stang 0-2.

REBOUNDS: HOBART (24) McCann 6, Jensen 4, Georgos 3, Lafty 3, Woods 3, Taddei 3, Brown, Casson; LOWELL (16) Stang 5, Skamay 3, Austgen 3, Richwalski, Bell, Parker.

ASSISTS: HOBART (10) Nick Lafty 4, Robert Woods 2, Sean Taddei 2, George Georgos, Brandon Harris; LOWELL (4) Ray Skamay 2, Austin Richie, Austin Magley.

STEALS: HOBART (4) McCann 2, Lafty, Georgos; LOWELL (5) Skamay 2, Bell, Austgen, Magley.

3-GOALS: HOBART (6) Robert Woods 4, Matt Brown, Nick Lafty; Austin Richie.

LOWELL, IN (12-18-2009) Lowell still looks like a team that's three weeks behind everybody else. You wonder what would happen if they ever got to start the basketball season on time. Lowell still appeared in pre-season mode Friday night as they struggled offensively in a 42-37 loss to Hobart in the Northwest Crossroads Conference opener.

Senior Robert Woods scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Brickies (2-4), bounced back from an upset loss to neighbor River Forest three nights earlier. But Lowell (1-3) didn't lose this game because their defense was poor. Hobart only scored 12 baskets from the field. But Lowell, with a distinct height advantage, also only scored 12 field goals.

Lowell guard Austin Richie scored 13 of his 18 in the first half while senior guard Ray Skamay tallied 10 after halftime. but even with 6-foot-8 sophomore Kyle Richwalski and 6-foot-8 junior David Stang, the Devils got very little close to the basket, allowing Hobart to stay close in the game. The Brickies, playing without 6-foot-5 senior center Shorter Frazier, effectively slowed the game down and cashed in at the end sinking 12 of 18 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.

But Lowell got a combined seven points from Richwalski, Stang and 6-foot-4 Joe Bell against a Brickie team that had no one taller than 6-foot-4 Kevin McCann. That was the difference in the game.

"I'm not used to not winning every game," said Skamay, the quarterback on Lowell's semistate football team. "We have some 2-a-days (double practices) coming up over the holidays and I think we need them."

Nobody had more than a three-point lead at any time in the first half. Lowell played a zone defense and Hobart was very patient, passing and waiting. After Bell's basket gave Lowell 21-20 lead with 3:27 left in the third quarter, the Brickies scored six in a row on two three-point baskets by Woods. Two baskets by Skamay helped tie the game 27-27, but Hobart scored six more as McCann scored twice inside.

Once more Lowell rallied to tie the game 33-33 on a three-point basket from Richie, the Devils high scorer with 18. Skamay's baseline jump shot gave the Devils a 35-34 lead. he sank two foul shots to make it 37-35 with 1:46 left. But Lowell missed shots or turned the ball over on its last four possessions and Hobart sank seven of eight from the line in the final 1:35.

"We needed to bounce back," said Black, "after we lost to River Forest. Give them credit. They're better. But we didn't play well. We wanted to slow the game. Our coaching staff is taller than our team is. We just wanted to control the tHings we can control and that's rebounding, defense and taking care of the ball."

Lowell started the game with both big boys, Richwalski and Stang in the lineup, but they ended the night largely with a smaller 'five' on the floor. The Devils are clearly 'waiting' on their big inexperienced centers to become big and experienced. But, and I know Lowell people are tired of hearing this, but most teams have been practicing in their entirety, since early November. Lowell's entire roster has been practicing as a team only since the first of December, because four of the 11 Devils who played against Hobart are football players who could not report to the basketball team on Dec. 1. It still shows.

"Our big guys have to play big," said Skamay. "They're young and they will. But we all haven't been together that long. I (and the other football players) have only been here three weeks."

Hobart is going to have to play a slow-paced style because they will be slotted in the Class 4A Valparaiso Sectional with (presently) undefeated Valparaiso and Merrillville.

"We haven't had our whole team together yet," Black said. "But this was a big win."

DEVIL NOTES: There was a very familiar face on the Hobart bench with 10th-year coach Mike Black. Actually, there were two of them. Black's father, Jim Black, who has coached at several schools including Lake Central, is his son's assistant again this year. But the Hobart junior varsity coach is Brett Summers, the former LC baseball and basketball star.

"He played for my dad at Lake Central," Jim Black explained. "We wanted to get his older brother Adam at first, but he got a job in Chicago. We found out that Brett was finishing up getting his degree at Cal College. He wanted to do it and he's been great. He's a good young coach. He's poised and he knows the game. He's coached some baseball before but this is the first time he's coached basketball. We're lucky to have someone like him."

Lowell has rescheduled games Dec. 22 with North Newton (0-5) and Dec. 23 against Gary West Side (1-3).

2010 LOWELL (1-3)
Coach Mike Magley, 67-108 (9th year)
(2009) 9-15, (2008) 9-13, (2007) 10-10

Dec. 8 (L) 67-82 at Gavit
Dec. 12 (L) 57-86 at Bishop Noll
Dec. 15 (W) 55-53 Calumet
Dec. 18 (L) 37-42 Hobart
Dec. 22 (Tues) North Newton
Dec. 23 (Wed) Gary West Side
Jan. 5 (Tues) at Hammond
Jan. 9 (Sat) Highland
Jan. 14 (Thurs) at Griffith
Jan. 15 (Fri) at Hanover Central
Jan. 19 (Tues) Lake Central
Jan. 23 (Sat.) at Kankakee Valley
Jan. 29 (Fri) Munster
Jan. 30 (Sat.) at Merrillville
Feb. 2 (Tues) at Hebron
Feb. 5 (Fri) at Andrean
Feb. 11 (Thurs) at Boone Grove
Feb. 20 (Sat.) Crown Point
Feb. 23 (Tues) Wheeler
Feb. 26 (Sat.) at Morton

Munster (4A) Sectional
March 1 (Tues) quarterfinals
March 4 (F) semifinals
March 5 (S) finals

Valparaiso (4A) Regional
March 12 (S) semifinals (a.m.)
March 12 (S) regional final game (p.m.)