Crown Point closes out season, Joliet Street HS gym with 63-55 win over Lowell
A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Friday, Feb. 28, 2003   (in CP)  season finale

LOWELL (55)  Justin Bales 5-2-14, Matt Roberts 3-1-7, Jason Corns 2-0-4,  Jim Jeffries 9-1-21, Ryan Brown 2-2-7, Nate Wilbourn 1-0-2, Mike Miller 0-0-0, Mike Stoner 0-0-0, Ryan Metz 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 22-6-55

FTS:  6-7,  85.5,  75 percent  (Bales 2-2, Jeffries 1-1, Roberts 1-2, Brown 2-2)
TURNOVERS: 13
REBOUNDS: Jason Corns - 5
ASSISTS: Justin Bales - 3
STEALS: Jim Jeffries - 2
3-POINT GOALS (5)  Justin Bales 2, Jim Jeffries 2, Ryan Brown.

CROWN POINT (63)  Brian Sparks 8-0-20,  Aaron Miller 2-0-6, Chad Pruzin 2-2-7, Chris Thomas 10-3-23, Sam Henderson 0-0-0, Joel Heavner 0-0-0, Chachi Albrecht  1-0-2,  Mike Harris 1-0-3, Joel Heavner 1-0-2, Kyle Ernest 0-0-0,  Jordan Ham 0-0-0.   TOTALS: 25-5-63

FTS: 3-4, 75.0 percent  (Thomas 3-4, Pruzin 2-2)
TURNOVERS: 11
REBOUNDS: Chris Thomas - 11
ASSISTS: Chad Pruzin - 10
STEALS: Brian Sparks - 4, Chad Pruzin 3
BLOCKED SHOTS: Chris Thomas 2
FOULED OUT: none
3-POINT GOALS (8) Bran Sparks 4, Aaron Miller 2, Chad Pruzin, Mike Harris.

CROWN POINT  (2-28-2003) -  It was a happy evening and then again it wasn't.

In a game that was more finesse than physical, more fun-loving than fighting, Crown Point won the final home game ever at the present Crown Point high school, pulling away in the third quarter to win 63-55.

On the Bulldogs' 'Senior Night', Chris Thomas and Brian Sparks combined for 43 points and fellow senior Chad Pruzin recorded 10 assists as the home team wrote the final chapter on 44 years of basketball in CP's Joliet Street location.

"I don't want to make it sound like I'm not happy to move into the new building because I am," said seven year CP coach Tom Johnson. "But I'm going to miss this place.  I've coached at Lafayette Jefferson and there's no greater tradition than that.  And I've coached at Oak Hill, where the gym is very much like this except for some seats at the end of the court.  There's no greater home court advantage than you have here."

"A lot of great players played in this gym.  Not just for CP but playing against them.  I'm an old school kind of guy and I'm sad about leaving.  We wanted to win the game tonight.  I felt some pressure.  I'm sure it means a lot more to me than it does to the boys.  It will mean a lot to them in about 10 years that they played the last game here." At half-time of a contest where both teams played well, CP introduced almost 50 players from years gone by, many wearing the old-fashioned CPHS letter jacket, which included a large white C on the front.  Orchestrated by athletic director Jerry Caravana and narrated by longtime CP voice Ed O'Brien, the night included constant reminders of the finality of the event without getting in the way the contest.

The Feb. 28 Lowell at CP game marked the final basketball games to be played at the old gym just down the street from the historic Old Lake Co. Courthouse.

"To see coach (Harry) Allison come out on the floor and come to our practice to talk to the boys this week was something," said Johnson. "The first time he'd come back to see my team play.  I sure didn't want to lose.  He's the guy who put Crown Point basketball on the map.  He had a winless season and he had two 20-win seasons."

"I have a lot of memories in my seven years here."

The final memory will be an encouraging night of shooting with Pruzin feeding Thomas and Sparks against the smaller Red Devils, who lost their fourth straight game.  The Bulldogs used a 10-4 run late in the third quarter to pull out to a 50-41 advantage with 7:20 left in the game.

"I thought it was our best offensive performance in some time," said Johnson, "but give Lowell a lot of credit.  Their team doesn't care what the score is.  They always play hard.  They never gave up and that's the way Mike (Magley's) teams are."

To call this a dominant win would be inaccurate.  As odd as it sounds for a team in a losing streak, Lowell continued to play well leading 18-17 after one quarter and closing to within 42-39 with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

"I thought we played well tonight," said Magley. "They shot the ball so well.  All of them shoot so well.  I thought we played pretty good defense.  They just shot over it."

Thomas scored 13 of his 23 points in the second half while Sparks, the 6-2 senior, split his 20 points evenly.  Lowell got excellent attacking games from 6-2 junior Jim Jeffries, who scored 21 and 6-2 Justin Bales, who added 14.  It was the inability to contain the 6-7 Thomas as well as Sparks' shooting that decided the regular season finale.

"We're playing well right now," said Magley. "It's not like we peaked in the middle of the year. We're on the rise now and I just hope it continues next week."

Lowell and Crown Point will start next week docked in the same state tournament harbor if not the same boat.  Both have had about .500 seasons but both drew byes in the sectional quarterfinals and losing teams in the semifinals.

To be accurate, though, CP's draw of Hobart is better for them than Lowell's draw of Lew Wallace (6-13) at the Gary West Side Sectional.

"They've played the same style for years and there's nothing wrong with it," said Magley. "They push the ball up the floor.  They've got a couple of kids who can shoot it.  We've got to be sure we can get the ball up the floor against them.  But I think we can play with them."

"But it's not a match that happens all the time.  We don't really know.  I'm sure they had somebody here watching us.  It's kind of fun because we don't know how we match up against them.  For us to get to the championship game would be huge for us."

Crown Point draws a Hobart team they beat by 11 points last month. "It's always great to not have to play that first night while other teams are being eliminated." smiled Johnson. "We need to get ready and I thought we did some of that tonight."

The Bulldogs may have suffered a personnel loss when senior guard Mike Harris suffered a knee injury in the second quarter.  CP thought the 5-10 defensive standout might be out for the year but that's not definite.

"He'll have to have an MRI done.  He may have an MCL problem," said Johnson. "But it's not as bad as we first thought.  We're hoping the week will help him."  CP had previously lost 6-4 senior post player Kyle Robbins for the season after a series of concussions.  "His loss has significantly been felt, especially on the backboards."

"That's a great example of how someone's value doesn't show up in stats," said Johnson. "But I think we've recovered from that. "Joel Heavner and Chachi Albrecht have taken on new roles."

But the playoffs seemed far away on the final night at the Russ Keller athletic center.

Everybody looked around after the game, even kids and teachers who would be back in school Monday morning. The finality of leaving the Joliet Street location and the possible demolition of the old high school is beginning to set in for Crown Point people.

"I was hoping they'd pass me the ball,"  said CP junior Aaron Miller, "with about eight seconds left.  So I could dunk the final basket."  Players got to cut down the nets in a symbolic gesture that, again, will mean much more to them in 5-10 years.

"I remember when I interviewed for this job seven years ago," said Johnson. "They brought me in right up there (the west end of the balcony) so I could look at the gym.  It reminded me of where I had been coaching at Oak Hill.  It's a great place.  It's sad to leave."

NOTES:  Lowell coach Mike Magley said he's got use for the CPHS gymnasium, at last for this summer.  "I asked him (Tom Johnson) if we could use it.  We're renovating (a $50 million dollar upgrade) and we don't have a gym this summer."

Kyle Robbins said there's no chance that he'd be cleared to play in the state tournament no matter how long CP stays alive.

"The doctors said that my second and third concussions were caused by the fact that I came back too early," Kyle explained. "They say you need to go a full year without a concussion before you can be cleared to play again.  So, that's what I'll have to do.  I'm just an assistant coach now."

CP, which is not a flashy team, blew a fancy layup and a couple of dunk attempts by Chris Thomas.  The Bulldogs were clearly affected by the spirit of closing night but when asked to comment on the spectacular boo-boos, Johnson looked at the floor and said nothing.

The game was unusually light on fouls with both teams shooting 11 free throws combined.   The crowd of about 2,000 included TV highlight cameras from Cable Channel 3 and WYIN Channel 56 and a live broadcast crew from the Region Sports Network.

2003 CROWN POINT (10-10)
Coach Tom Johnson (6 years -  85-47)
Assistant coaches: Ray Tarnow, Pat Mills, Josh Powers and Scott Sparks
DAC Games in CAPS  -    Start times are JV starting times
11-27-2002:  74-46  at Gavit (1-19)
11-30-2002:  86-85 Lake Central (13-7)
12-6-2002:  76-41 at Clark (5-15)
12-7-2002:  56-54 (West Lafayette) Harrison  (10-9)
12-13-2002:  59-40  at Griffith (18-3)
12-14-2002:  55-60 East Chicago (15-5)
12-20-2002:  79-68 PORTAGE (8-12)

Highland Holiday Tournament
12-27-2002:  55-68  Munster (21-1)
12-28-2002:  69-33 Kankakee Valley (3-17)

1-3-2003:  92-43 Calumet (3-17)
1-11-2003:  43-53 at MERRILLVILLE (10-10)
1-17-2003:  56-50 VALPARAISO (17-3)
1-18-2003:  46-70 at South Bend Adams (15-5)
1-25-2003:  57-59 at MICHIGAN CITY (7-13)
1-31-2003:  59-73 at CHESTERTON  (15-5
2-1-2003:  59-83 at Munster (20-1)
2-7-2003:  51-82 LaPORTE (15-5)
2-13-2003:  54-43 at Hobart (6-14) 
2-21-2003:  54-43 GARY ROOSEVELT (19-1)
2-28-2003:  63-55 LOWELL  (10-12)

Valparaiso (4A) Sectional
3-7-2003:  (F) Hobart (6-14)
3-8-2003:  (S) championship (6 p.m.)

(Lafayette) Jefferson (4A) Regional
3-15-2003:  (S) semifinals (10 a.m.)
3-15-2003:  (S) finals  (7 p.m.)

2003 LOWELL (10-12)
Coach Mike Magley (2nd year)  10-12 in 2002
LAC games in CAPS, Home games in bold
Start times are junior varsity starting times

11-26-2002:  41-75  at Lake Central (12-7)
11-29-2002:  70-30 Calumet (3-17)
12-5-2002:  44-50  Hobart (6-14)
12-13-2002:  51-54 Morton (11-9)
12-20-2002:  66-50 at North Newton (10-10)
12-21-2002:  50-70 Hammond (6-14)
1-3-2003:  48-44 at Hanover Central (12-9)
1-4-2003:  48-64 at Bishop Noll (12-9)
1-10-2003:  70-56 at Munster  (21-1)
1-18-2003:  62-55 at Whiting (8-13)
1-21-2003:  54-67 at Highland (12-8)
1-24-2003:  56-36 Clark (5-15)
1-28-2003:  50-29 at Lake Station (1-19)
1-31-2003:  69-63 Kankakee Valley (3-17)
2-6-2003:  45-36 at Gavit (1-19)
2-8-2003:  38-59 Griffith (18-3)

Lake Athletic Conference Tournament
2-13-2003:  41-28 Clark (6-15)
2-17-2003:  64-50 Whiting (8-13)
2-19-2003: 54-60 Griffith (18-3)
2-21-2003:  45-70 Highland (13-9)  3rd place
2-25-2003:  55-41 Wheeler (18-2)
2-28-2003: 55-63 at Crown Point (10-10)

Gary West Side (4A) Sectional
3-7-2003:  (F) Lew Wallace (8-10) - 7:45 p.m.
3-8-2003:  (S) championship (6 p.m.)

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