H.S. Boys Basketball: Lowell 61, North Newton 46

Team	1st Qtr	2nd Qtr	3rd Qtr	4th Qtr	Final
North Newton (0-1)	5	13	8	20	46
LOWELL (1-0)	13	24	16	8	61

NORTH NEWTON (46) Joel Hanger 1-0-3, JT Hooks 2-1-5, Cully Vogt 1-0-2, Jacque Sheldon 2-2-6, Mike Clark 1-0-2, John Hutsell 2-0-4, Reid Scheidt 2-1-6, Rich Scheidt 7-4-18, Kurt Barne 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-8-46
FTS: 8-16, 50.0 percent: Sheldon 2-2, Hooks 1-2, Reid Scheidt 4-8, Reid Scheidt 1-4.
TURNOVERS: 16
REBOUNDS: JT Hooks - 6, Rich Scheidt - 6
ASSISTS: Jacque Sheldon - 3
BLOCKS: Rich Scheidt - 3
FOULED OUT: none.
3-POINT GOALS (2) Joel Hanger, Reid Scheidt.

LOWELL (61) Mike Miller 3-1-7, Mike Stoner 0-4-4, Zach Steiner 2-0-4, Jason Corns 2-0-4, Jim Jeffries 7-1-17, Jeff Clemens 6-2-15, Dustin Manis 2-1-5, Greg Johnson 1-2-4, Kyle Metz 0-1-1, Scott Schulz 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-12-61.
FTS: 12-18, 66.7% percent (Stoner 4-4, Steiner 0-3, Jeffries 1-1, Manis 1-2, Clemens 2-2, Metz 1-2, Johnson 2-3, Miller 1-1)
TURNOVERS: 14
ASSISTS: Mike Miller - 7
REBOUNDS: Zach Steiner 7, Jim Jeffries -6.
BLOCKED SHOTS : 4,
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (3) Jim Jeffries 2, Jeff Clemens.

LOWELL (11-25-2003) - The fourth quarter might have been a welcome thing. What? North Newton outscored Lowell 20-8 in the fourth quarter of the basketball season opener last week. How could that be good from a Lowell standpoint?

It was coming too easy. Facing a school half Lowell's size, the Red Devils rolled up a 50-23 lead with 1:46 left in the third quarter. They scored at will and had fun doing it against a team starting four sophomores and no one taller than 6-foot 3.

But the Spartans kept hustling and chopped 12 points off the lead in the finals 10 minutes. The Lowell lapse might have been a blessing heading into a tougher match with Calumet in game two of the season Friday (Nov. 28) night.

"We've got a lot of kids who hadn't had much experience get a lot tonight," said third year Lowell coach Mike Magley. "I liked our intensity the first half. We played pretty solid defense and offense. But I knew when we got that big lead we'd start going for crazy steals and making silly fouls."

"These boys have been with me since the seniors were sophomores and I asked them, 'How many times did I come in here and chew you out after wins two years ago?' We were happy to just get a win. I told them, if we want to do anything, we have to play for four quarters."

There was a lot of that and Lowell's precision level dropped seriously in the late going.

But the Red Devils, who were 11-12 last year, indicated they could do a little better than that. If point guards are everything in basketball, Lowell has two of them. Senior Mike Miller paired seven points with seven assists and 6-1 senior Dustin Manis, who missed all of last season due to injury, scored five points and stole the ball four times. You can never overrate the ability to handle the ball and both Miller and Manis clearly can do that.

"The seniors are in a new position in the respect that they have to be leaders," said Magley. "So far, they have done that. They have to put some childish things they did last year away and lead the team. (Jim) Jeffries did last night at our team meeting. He said, "I've been waiting three years for this year. It's the seniors' time."

Jeffries, a 6-3 forward who averaged 13 points a game last season, scored 17 in the opener with six rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists. Just 10 days removed from his final football game, Jeffries was productive on opening night. The surprise in the scorebook was sophomore Jeff Clemens. Playing his first varsity game and running awkwardly with a light brace on one knee, Clemens, another football player on the Devils' 11-2 team, scored 15 points with four rebounds and two assists. A 6-foot wing player, Clemens may have almost as big a new impact as Manis.

Lowell led 4-0 and 8-1 as the Spartan sophomores suffered some severe stage fright, evidenced by 11 first half turnovers. Jeffries' first three-point shot made it 20-5 with 6:52 left in the half. The Devils easily created shots in their half court offense and ran the floor effectively. Only foul trouble, which limited Manis and 6-3 center Jason Corns, held the home team back.

"We have to play smart," said Magley. "We absolutely have to. I've been blessed since I've been here that we have guys who are willing to lay it out and lay it on the line. I knew they'd have more jitters than we do. The good thing is, we were able to go 10 deep. If you're on the varsity floor, you're a varsity player. Get ready to play."

Magley cautioned that the beefed-up Lowell schedule, which now includes Gary West Side, will create serious problems and that depth is important.

"We've got positions open," said Magley. "We've got sophomores on the JV that can move up. We're running a different offense than we did last year, based on our personnel. The boys are picking it up. But, yes, we are further along than we've been."

DEVIL NOTES: Lowell sophomore Jeff Clemens scored his first varsity free throw... on a bank shot. "He said he was just so nervous," Magley said later. "I said, 'No kidding. I didn't think you planned that."

If Lowell's 61-46 victory seemed familiar it might be because Lowell's girls beat North Newton 61-44 to start the Lady Red Devils' season on Nov. 13. North Newton's JT Hooks, a 6-3 sophomore forward, hurt an ankle with 6:59 left in the game and did not return.

North Newton will be an oddity the next three years because they have three triplet brothers on the varsity. Rich Scheidt, a 6-2 soph, scored 18 points with six rebounds and three blocks. Reid Scheidt, a 6-1 sophomore, added six points with two steals. Ryan Scheidt, another 6-1 forward, played only briefly. All three were varsity football players as well.

Lowell hosts Crown Point on Feb. 21. The Bulldogs feature varsity junior basketball players Sam and Seth Henderson, twin 6-2 forwards.

"Lowell will be one of the toughest teams we play all year," said North Newton coach Kyle Van Almen. "They did a lot of nice things offensively and defensively."

LOWELL
Coach Mike Magley (3rd year) 11-12 in 2003

Nov. 25: W, 61-46 North Newton
Nov. 28: W, 60-46 at Calumet
Dec. 6 (S) CLARK 7:30 pm
Dec. 12 (F) LAKE STATION 7:30 pm

Red Devils hold off 4th Quarter surge to beat North Newton 61-46

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith