H.S. Boys Basketball: Portage 65, Crown Point 49

Team	1st Qtr	2nd Qtr	3rd Qtr	4th Qtr	Final
CROWN POINT (6-16)	8	16	11	14	49
Portage (12-10)	14	13	24	14	65

PORTAGE (65) Milt Rivera 3-2-9, Kyle Autrey 4-3-11, Steve Vaught 2-2-6, Justin Ortiz 1-0-2, Anthony Leal 2-2-8, Josh Stanley 0-4-4, Buster Battreal 8-4-24, Zach Manoski 0-1-1, Justin Ortiz 1-0-2, Jake Huston 0-0-0, Kevin Dixon 0-0-0, Nathan Lewis 0-0-0, Andrew Stills 0-0-0. TOTALS: 20-18-65.
FREE THROWS: 18-25, 72% percent - Vaught 2-2, Autrey 3-4, Battreal 4-5, Leal 2-2, Rivera 2-4, Stanley 4-4, Manoski 1-2, Ortiz 0-2.
ASSISTS: Steve Vaught - 5, Buster Battreal - , Justin Ortiz - 3
STEALS: Justin Ortiz - 3
REBOUNDS: Steve Vaught - 6
FOULED OUT: Kyle Autrey (4th Q) 2:37 left.
3-POINT GOALS (7) Buster Battreal 4, Anthony Leal 2, Milton Rivera.

CROWN POINT (49) Aaron Miller 1-0-2, Kyle Ernest 3-4-10, Ryan Brown 4-7-15, Sam Henderson 1-1-3, Seth Henderson 0-0-0, Mark Patrick 3-0-6, Brian Maloney 2-0-4, Jordan Ham 1-2-5, Chachi Albrecht 0-0-0, Mike Smith 0-0-0, Donovan Garletts 0-0-0, Matt Ernest 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-14-49.
FREETHROWS: 14-20, 70%, Brown 7-10, Sam Henderson 1-2, Kyle Ernest 4-5, Ham 2-3.
REBOUNDS: Ryan Brown - 7
ASSISTS: Kyle Ernest - 2
STEALS: Kyle Ernest - 2
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (1) Jordan Ham.

PORTAGE (3-5-2004) - Some teams just don't match up with other teams. Crown Point, in three meetings, just didn't match up with Portage. In a pairing that may be revisited more than once in 2005, Portage, for the third time this season, used superior quickness and athletic ability to shut down the Bulldogs perimeter offense and turn back CP, this time 65-49 in a Class 4A Portage Sectional semifinal.

The Bulldogs (6-16) stayed with the host school into the middle of the third quarter and some of Portage's undisciplined play seemed to be hurting them. But the speed and skills of perimeter players Justin Ortiz, Milton Rivera, Buster Battreal and Anthony Leal and improved judgment, forced turnovers and missed shots to pull the Indians (12-10) to a decisive victory.

And when you look at the benches (CP had 10 juniors on the playoff roster while Ortiz, Battreal, Rivera and Leal are all juniors), it is a virtual certainty that this was not the last chapter of the basketball books between these particular boys.

"They have all the speed and quickness of Merrillville," said CP coach Tom Johnson of Portage. "They were as patient as I've ever seen them. I thought they've played well. You can't give Battreal that many good looks at the basket."

"We survived one run in the first half but you can't let yourself get that far down twice."

Portage scored 13 points in a row to break an 8-8 tie and take a 21-8 lead with 6:05 left in the first half in front of a relatively small crowd of about 1,500. The Bulldogs, who shuffled 10 players in and out of the lineup, then closed with a 16-6 run to half-time. CP established improving 6-5 junior post player Ryan Brown, who scored six points, and 5-11 junior guard Jordan Ham, whose basket made it 27-24 with 32 seconds left in the half.

Sam Henderson's layup cut the lead to 29-28 with 7:23 left in the third quarter. But Battreal, who had scored only nine points up to that time, hit a three-point shot to make it 32-28. After a basket by CP's Kyle Ernest, Portage scored eight in a row off CP turnovers to take control of the game. Battreal (14.3 ppg.), the long-haired 6-2 left-handed multi-position player, sank consecutive three-point shots inside a 10-0 Portage run minutes later to make it 55-35.

The Crown Point student section chanted Battreal's unusual first name most of the night trying to rattle him. The Portage scoring leader struggled through the first half but had 15 of his game-high 24 after half-time and Rivera, Ortiz and Leal are faster than Buster is.

"As the game went on," said Johnson, "their energy level went up and ours went down. Steve (Portage coach Steve Bartos) has done a great job with that group of kids. They have five guys who can score. Ortiz, Battreal and Rivera and (Kyle) Autrey inside. Autrey has turned into a strong inside presence and he's done it against everybody. Then you bring Leal in off the bench and he's almost a fourth point guard. They are difficult to guard. You can give up the defense and work on two guys."

"And they are extremely quick. Their perimeter quickness is really good and we knew that would give us problems. When we were on offense, that gives us a lot of problems."

Crown Point got strong games from Brown and, for 2-1/2 quarters, guards Ham, Mark Patrick and Chachi Albrecht. The Bulldogs had a confidence let down after a couple of steals in the third quarter and they could not recover.

"We felt if we could continue to get the ball into the post in the second half, we'd get some open looks outside. But I don't think we took advantage of that enough. When the lead got to eight, I though we got rattled and then it became 15. It's a difficult situation because when you see the time running out in a do-or-die game, you tend to start pressing."

Portage's number one objective was to stop CP's three-point prowess. The Bulldogs sank almost seven three-pointers a game and had made 44 in their previous five games. Portage limited CP to 1-of-14 from long range. The Indians took the 'hit' from Brown (15 points, seven boards) inside but they never ran too far away from the money line.

The future of CP centers on Brown and 6-4 post pal Brian Maloney. If that pair gains in strength and confidence to give the Bulldogs a 32-minute scoring post threat as is it appears they can in a much smaller (several tall posts graduate) 2005 DAC, Crown Point becomes a major force with their five player Valparaiso-like inside-outside offense.

"We'll take a few weeks off," said Johnson. "We'll go at it again. I'm proud of both (Kyle Ernest and Aaron Miller) seniors. They had four good years for us. But I can't imagine a group of juniors who will be champing at the bit more to get back to work. We've got something to prove."

DOG NOTES: Valparaiso wiped out overmatched Hobart by a misleading 62-43 score in the other Portage Sectional semifinal Friday. Valpo led 12-0 and 37-17. Valpo had already beaten Portage twice.

CP finished with 139 three-point baskets after 22 games, after the Bulldogs made 133 three-point baskets in 22 games in 2003.

Nov. 26: W, 56-50 Gavit (11-10)
Nov. 29: W, 62-40 Griffith (11-12)
Dec. 5: L, 48-78 at LaPORTE (19-4)
Dec. 12: L, 59-60 LAKE CENTRAL (17-5)
Dec. 16: L, 53-56 Valparaiso (19-2)
Dec. 19: L, 46-55 MICHIGAN CITY (2-19)
Jan. 2: L, 32-51 MERRILLVILLE (9-12)
Jan. 6: L, 42-68 at PORTAGE (12-10)
Jan. 9: L, 51-53 CHESTERTON (13-8)
Jan. 16: L, 56-67 at LAKE CENTRAL (17-5)
Jan. 17: W, 54-49 South Bend Adams (13-8)
Jan. 23: W, 56-39 MICHIGAN CITY (2-19)
Jan. 24: L, 44-58 at East Chicago (11-9)
Jan. 30: L, 52-62 at VALPARAISO (19-2)
Jan. 31: L, 38-66 Munster (20-2)
Feb. 6: L, 43-51 MERRILLVILLE (9-12)
Feb. 12: L, 57-68 LaPORTE (19-4)
Feb. 20: L, 48-53 PORTAGE (12-10)
Feb. 21: W, 62-53 at Lowell (8-13)
Feb. 27: L, 80-85 at CHESTERTON (13-8)

PORTAGE (4A) SECTIONAL
March 3: W, 55-50 CHESTERTON (13-8) (Quarterfinals)
March 6: L, 49-65 at PORTAGE (12-10) (Semifinals)
(end of season)

Valparaiso                          12-2     19-2    66.5   49.8 Won-14
LaPorte                              11-3     19-3    70.0   56.2 Won-7
Lake Central                       10-4     17-5    62.7   55.9 Won-2
Chesterton                          9-5     13-8     61.0   59.4 Lost-1
Merrillville                            7-7      9-12     54.3   53.7 Lost-1
Portage                               5-9     12-10    59.4   57.1 Won-2
Crown Point                        1-13      6-16    51.6   58.2 Lost-1
Michigan City                      1-13      2-19    55.9   67.0 Lost-15

Quarterfinals (3-2-2004) - Portage 68, Merrillville 62
CROWN POINT 55, Chesterton 50

Portage eliminates Bulldogs 65-49 in 4A Portage Sectional Semifinals

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith