Runnin' Red Devils break 16-year losing streak in 73-66 win over Munster

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-31-2016

Team /Record	1	2	3	4	Final
Munster (8-9)	19	3	18	26	66
LOWELL (14-3)	17	18	16	22	73

Friday, January 29, 2016 - Northwest Crossroads Conference game at LOWELL, Ind.

Nick Mantis (30) and John Cory (22) trap Munster's Pete Kounelis (3) in last Friday Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) game in Lowell. The Devils led 35-22 at the half. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Lowell's John Cory (22) scores on a fast break layup in the second quarter. Lowell scored 14 points in a row after trailing 21-17.

Lowell's Zach Redmon (12) obstructs the view of Munster's Cris Cruz (30) last Friday in Lowell. The Devils won for the 14th time this season.

On another Lowell fast break, the Devils Noah Durr (44) gets a pass past Munster's Jake Strbjak (35) sending Nick Mantis (30) in for a layup.

Lowell's Brandon Cory (24) watches for a screen by Munster's Jake Strbjak last Friday in Lowell. Lowell held on to win 73-66.

Munster's Luke Hackett (20) tries to disrupt the dribble of Lowell junior Bailey Laumeyer (14) Friday in Lowell where the Devils are 7-0 so far this season.

Lowell's Nick Mantis (30) keeps the ball away from Munster's Connor Manous (5) in NCC action last Friday.

John Cory (22) makes it tough for Connor Manous to inbound the ball in second quarter action last Friday.

Lowell sophomore Noah Durr (44) shoots over Jake Strbjak (35) in fourth quarter action last Friday. Durr scored 15 including 11 in the second half.

Brandon Cory (24) likes the look of this open shot Friday against Munster. Cory scored 11 in the Devils' 73-66 victory.

Lowell coach Joe Delgado watched his boys improve to 4-1 in Northwest Crossroads Conference play with the win over Munster. (All photos by Mark Smith)

Copyright © 2016 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved. Revised: February 03, 2016 .

 

MUNSTER (66) Conner Manous 3-0-6, Jake Strbjak 2-3-7, Luke Pillarella 1-0-2, Luke Hackett 9-6-25, Jevon Morris 3-1-7, Pete Kounelis 2-7-12, Nick Fies 3-0-7, Cris Cruz 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23 (17-22) 66.

LOWELL (73) John Cory 5-1-11, Brandon Cory 3-1-7, Hayden Monix 1-0-2, Grant Monix 2-1-7, Nick Mantis 9-9-29, Noah Durr 5-5-15, Zach Redmon 1-0-2, Bailey Laumeyer 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26 (16-22) 73.

FREE THROWS: MUNSTER (17-22, 77.2%) Hackett 6-7, Kounesli 7-8, Strbjak 3-4, Morris 1-2, Fies 0-1.
LOWELL (16-22, 72.7%) Mantis 9-11, Durr 5-6, Grant Monix 1-2, John Cory 1-3.

REBOUNDS: MUNSTER (22) Strbjak 5, Hackett 4, Morris 3, Manous 3, Pillarella 3, Fies 2, Kounelis 2. LOWELL (17) Manits 7, Brandon Cory 2, John Cory 2, Grant Monix 2, Hayden Monix, Durr, Laumeyer, Redmon.

ASSISTS: MUNSTER (12) Morris 4, Kounelis 4, Hackett, Manous, Pillarella, Fies; LOWELL (13) Brandon Cory 5, Nick Mantis 4, John Cory 3, Bailey Laumeyer.

STEALS: MUNSTER (5) Morris 2, Pillarerlla 2, Hackett; LOWELL (10) Mantis 4, John Cory 2, Bailey Laumeyer.

3-GOALS: MUNSTER (3) Mick Fies, Pete Kounelis, Luke Hackett LOWELL (5) Nick Mantis 2, Grant Monix 2, Brandon Cory

FOULED OUT: MUNSTER (1) Pete Kounelis (4th Q) 1:32 left; LOWELL (2) Hayden Monix (4th Q) 4:56 left, Grant Monix (4th Q) :22 left.

Junior Nick Mantis scored 29 and sophomore Noah Durr came off the bench to score 15 more as Lowell (14-3) broke a 17-game losing streak against their longtime Lake County rivals. The Devils can tie for the Northwest Crossroads Conference (NCC) if Munster defeats Griffith (15-1) next week, but this game probably meant more than a conference championship to Lowell’s players.

“Munster is still Munster,” said senior Hayden Monix. “They’re always where we want to get our program. It’s a great accomplishment for us. One of the ones I’m proudest of in my career.”

“I first started hearing about Munster when I was in sixth grade,” said Brandon Cory, “Playing here in the fieldhouse. They’ve gotten the best of me every time. Since fifth or sixth grade. Great program. Coach Hackett does a phenomenal job. I have never beaten Munster at any level. I’ve been on a team that beat some Munster guys, but I’ve never beaten an entire Munster team."

“It think our sophomore class beat them in middle school. A program like that. I think they’ve won seven conference titles out of eight. For us just to beat them in a league game. It’s a great accomplishment.”

“Its definitely a great feeling,” Nick Mantis said. “It's been on our mind all year.”

“At the end of the game, I think we were playing ‘not to lose’, I think. Not playing to win. We’ve been in plenty of close games all year. We know what to do in situations like that.”

“It's not so much holding the ball, it's taking the open shots or layups when they’re there. We did that pretty well against Valpo and Chesterton. We have done this a lot better than we did tonight.”

Lowell got into foul trouble (both Hayden and Grant Monix would eventually foul out) and the Mustangs closed the gap to 66-60 with more than a minute to play. A questionable traveling call and 7-of-10 foul shooting in the final minute iced the game for Lowell.

“We’ve got to learn how to play with a lead better,” said second year Lowell coach Joe Delgado. “We’ve done it better sometimes than others. Munster is still Munster. They’re a sectional opponent. Very well coached.”

Lowell’s confidence as a team, something they will need next month, is so obvious. It almost cost them the Munster game as the Devils continued to go for steals and deflections even though they were in a double bonus (every Lowell foul is 2 shots) foul situation. Lowell also had problems holding the ball and they finally scrapped that idea.

“We told them that you’re trying to be patient but you can still score,” Delgado explained. “We were shaky holding the ball. So we told them just play.”

“You can't play three quarters,” said Munster coach Mike Hackett, unhappy that his team has fallen below the .500 mark again. “That’s been a problem of ours all year. You can't beat a good team like that. First quarter we turned the ball over twice and we scored 19 points. Second quarter, we turned it over seven times and we didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Lowell scored 14 points in a row in the second quarter to erase a 21-17 deficit. Guards John and Brandon Cory combined for nine points in that stretch and Mantis, a 6-foot-3 guard, had three second quarter assists.

“Some of the credit for that has to go to them. They’re very active. They’re very impressive. Luke picked up his second foul and sat out the whole quarter. I hate to say that because he’s my son. But it just really kills us that he’s not in the game.”

“He provides a lot of leadership. My two freshmen played like freshmen in the second quarter. “Morris (guard Jevon Morris) has the potential to be a really good one. That’s what we’re hoping.”

Delgado is very happy with 14 wins in his second season at Lowell, where basketball success has been hard to find since former coach Steve Leonard’s days in the 1980s and 90s.

“We’ve beaten four sectional opponents,” he said, “with East Chicago and Morton left. I didn’t know what to expect when I came here. Last season was just a learning process. But I’ve gotten to know them and they’ve gotten to know me. We practice hard and play hard and I can't ask for more than that.”

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell’s last victory over Munster was 59-53 on Dec. 1, 2000 under former coach Jack Birmingham.
Even the 2014 Red Devils, who finished the season with a 16-5 record, lost twice to Munster.

Lowell is now 4-0 against its six potential Class 4A Sectional one state tournament opponents. The Devils play sectional rival East Chicago (11-4) in Lowell on Friday, Feb. 11 and they travel to sectional rival Morton (10-7) on Wednesday night, Feb. 15.

“I’ve seen East Chicago play quite a few times,” said Lowell’s Brandon Cory. “I watched the Griffith game on tape. I couldn’t go that night. They’re good. They’ll be tough, but we’re better than we were last year.”

Nick Mantis scored 22 and the Cory brothers combined for 29, but Lowell lost to Merrillville 74-69 Saturday night. The Devils played well, shooting 53% (29 of 55) from the floor and committing just nine turnovers. Lowell is 7-0 at home and they have not lost a game by more than 11 points all season.

Merrillville (16-1) has lost only to Crown Point. Lowell hosts Crown Point (10-6) Friday, Feb. 26 in the final game of the regular season.

Folks around Lowell know that Nick Mantis’ grandfather, also named Nick Mantis Sr., played for iconic state championship coach John Baratto (who the present EC gym is named after) at East Chicago Washington in the late 1950s.

ECW’s Nick Mantis, like Lowell’s Nick (a 6-foot-3 guard/forward) also played at Northwestern (1956-59) and was drafted in the fifth round by the old St. Louis Hawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) of the NBA in 1959. He played for the Chicago Zephyrs (now the Washington Wizards) and the Minneapolis (now the Los Angeles) Lakers.
 
Nick’s dad, Angelo Mantis played at Lake Central from 1985 to 1988. He scored what is still a school record 511 points (21.3 per game) in 1988 when LC won a one class sectional championship.

“Nick a great all-around player for us,” said coach Joe Delgado. “He gets his hands on a lot of deflections. He’s a good defender. And he is very calm. He’s like that in practice. I tell him. ‘You can take over a game. It's okay for you to do it. His father was in from California to see him play tonight That (29 points) was his high this year. He had 31 against Morton last year. I hope people (college scouts) start noticing him.”