2004-2005 Boys Basketball  Week-10 Renegade Poll A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (1-27-2005)

(1-27-2005) A wild three overtime finish to the Porter County Conference (PCC) championship game indicated again why leagues have championship tournaments. Even when delayed until Monday night (the finals are usually held on Saturday) by a snowstorm, the PCC finals, after a week long buildup, drew a capacity crowd.

Duneland officials may insist that a week-long, single-elimination DAC tournament involving eight 2,000 kid schools wouldn't draw 10,000-15,000 paying customers but some folks have a mental block. George Bush still says he can balance the budget, give big bucks cronies tax breaks and throw 80 billion dollars of your tax money away in Iraq. Some folks just won't come off of a point of view.

It still appears that some of the elite Indianapolis schools like Arlington and Lawrence North could give Valparaiso University a game, much less Valpo high school. But Valpo and Merrillville are clearly on the rise and haven't played their best ball yet.

Class 1A folks may expect to see Lafayette Catholic at the semistate, but somebody better get some tape on Clinton Prairie's 6-6 forward Jordan Brewer who is said to average 26 points and 13 rebounds after 10 games.

I'm sure somebody at 3A Andrean and 3A Gary Roosevelt is already eyeing Plymouth 6-2 super scorer Kyle Benge who averages 29.7 through 12 games.

1.) Merrillville (9-2)

MERRILLVILLE – Merrillville coasted Friday, leading 32-14 on the way to a 74-60 win over Lake Central. Josh Mayo scored 17 and the Pirates sank 21 of 24 to run their win streak to nine games. The Pirates have a road trip to 2A power Boone Grove (10-2) Saturday night, but they will be favored to win every remaining game on the schedule, although the Merrillville-Valparaiso game is in the spotlight.

2.) East Chicago (8-6)

EAST CHICAGO – This is a schedule selection after EC's 67-62 loss to Crown Point. The Cardinals won big rivalry games 70-61 against Hammond and 72-61 against Gary Roosevelt. David Conner came off the bench to roll up 17 against the Panthers but E'Twan Moore (19 ppg.) was held to 11 against Crown Point. EC led Crown Point by 10 after one quarter before they started losing track of CP's shooters, leading to nine Bulldog three point baskets.

The Cardinals get a chance to avenge an earlier loss to Gary West Side (9-3) Thursday night in East Chicago.

3.) Valparaiso (10-2)

VALPARAISO – Valpo dominated LaPorte 55-33, holding the Slicers to just 12 field goals. The Vikings have won three in a row since back-to-back losses to Chesterton and Merrillville. Jon Moon has made 20 free throws in a row over six games. Valpo is 164 of 217 (75.5%) from the foul line and they have won 83 of their last 103 games.

A big test comes up Friday at rejuvenated Crown Point (8-5).

4.) Gary West Side (9-3)

GARY – The Cougars come off a nine-day layoff at East Chicago (8-6) Thursday (Jan. 27) night. Nobody really wants to play this team in sectional play, but everybody thinks they have a chance to beat them because the Cougars can give up a lot of points.

In an odd way, West Side is hurt by the 14-game Duneland Conference schedule because they need to play teams like Michigan City, Valparaiso and Merrillville. Because of the inconsistent schedule and infrequent appearances outside Gary, sectional rivals do not really know how good this team is.

5.) Andrean (12-2)

MERRILLVILLE – The 59ers edged Chesterton 65-61 and Highland 56-55. Colin Smith scored 20 against Chesterton and Luke Harangody had 18 against Highland. This is a quality team that gives up a few too many points. The last nine opponents have scored 55 points or more and that's not good enough defense. Andrean is only 30 of 52 (57.6%) from the line in the last three games and that's not good enough either. Remember, the goal is to reach the state finals, not just win the sectional. That's how it is at Andrean.

6.) Munster (9-4)

MUNSTER - The Mustangs dominated Bishop Noll 56-41, leading 46-23 after three quarters. This was a vast improvement for a team that beat Kankakee Valley 81-75 on Jan. 15. Somebody talked about defense all week in practice. Noll was held to 14 field goals and star guards Sam Watts and Greg Jones were held to a combined 17 points.

Munster is OK if they realize that the hill they have to climb is higher than any they have scaled so far.

7.) Crown Point (8-5)

CROWN POINT – CP looked different again. After holding five opponents to 200 points (40 ppg.), CP dueled two athletic teams last weekend and beat Michigan City 67-60 and East Chicago 68-63.

The Bulldogs sank 19 three points goals in two games, but also got double figure games from 6-4 center Ryan Brown. CP is becoming very difficult to scout and defense because they are different at different times. I heard a radio call of the MC game saying that CP liked to slow the game down and keep the score in the 40s. Nothing could be further from the truth, but if you look at the five games previous to last weekend, you might think that.

The ultimate test comes up this week as CP faces Valparaiso (10-2) and Munster (9-4) on back to back nights. Confidence is on the rise, but nobody is going to beat those two teams on consecutive nights.

There is a suspicion that CP is better than their record, but that news hits the street this weekend as well.

8.) Chesterton (7-7)

CHESTERTON – Chesterton lost to Andrean 65-61 but came back to beat Portage 68-56 behind 22 from 6-3 freshman Zack Novak. Novak scored a career-high (I appreciate that talking about 'career highs' for 15 year olds is like LeBron James writing his autobiography) 33 points against the 59ers. The Trojans lost the Andrean game by missing 11 of 26 shots from the line.

Chesterton still has Valparaiso (10-2), Merrillville (11-2) and Boone Grove (10-3) yet to play. Injured guard Matt Maple is back in the lineup and he scored 14 against Portage. It's very hard to evaluate this team against a team with a better record like Highland (8-5) that plays in a weaker league.

9.) Lake Central (7-7)

ST. JOHN – Here's another team that is as off-and-on as that .500 record indicates. But when your losses are Merrillville (10-2), Valparaiso (10-2), Munster (9-4), East Chicago (8-6) and Crown Point (8-5), how bad are you? Is it you or the schedule?

LC has defeated Gary West Side (9-3), Crown Point (8-5), Chesterton (7-7) and LaPorte (6-8). 6-6 Brett Summers scored 22 against Merrillville and Adam Short added 21. Remember, this team plays in a league that is tougher than their sectional.

10.) Highland (8-5)

HIGHLAND – Highland lost 56-55 to Andrean but that may say more about Andrean than it does about the Trojans. Marcus Hammonds scored 24, but the Trojans made just 7-of-15 from the line. On the up side, the Trojans have beaten Hammond (9-6) twice, and they are better than Wheeler (9-4) and Hobart (7-5).

But it's time to show something Friday (Jan, 28) against arch-rival Munster.

OUTSIDERS...

Outsider No. 1 - Boone Grove (10-3)

PORTER TOWNSHIP - Boone lost 70-68 in three overtimes in the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament championship game. Danny Borys (21 ppg.) scored 24 in the title game, but in the long run, the Wolves will benefit from this loss. Soph guard Jake Pivarnik scored 17 and 6-4 Jon Shurr blocked five shots.

The Wolves will get a rematch Friday (Jan. 29) against Kouts (12-2) and then they host Merrillville (10-2) Saturday night. Boone is shooting 71% from the floor and have made less than 12 turnovers a game.

A 3 OT loss is tough, but regular season results have no meaning. It's not who you beat, it's who you play.

Outsider No. 2 - Kouts (12-2)

KOUTS - The Mustangs are riding high right now after a three overtime 70-68 win over Boone gave them their first PCC tournament title in 10 years. The two teams meet for the third time this year Friday. In 150 meetings, Boone has an all-time series lead 86-64.

Johnny Selman had a career-best game with 24 points and Jake Schoon tossed in the tournament winning shot as time ran out in the 44^th minute of the game. Will they get beat by Boone this week? Probably. But it was fun while it lasted.

Outsider No. 3 - Rensselaer (10-3)

RENSSELAER - Once you get to 10-3, somebody has to take notice. A 19-8 fourth quarter rally beat rival North Judson (8-4) by a 55-49 score Friday (Jan. 21). The Bombers build their team around football players and star runners Andrew Malone and Jacob Kiger are big scorers.

the losses are to Kouts (12-2), Harrison (10-3) and an inexplicable one to Sheridan (2-10). Johnny Igoe, a 6-foot guard, is a big time distance shooter. The Bombers' best five players are all 6-foot tall. they have a 6-8 senior center in Kevin Earnest but they don't get much out of him. At least, not yet. Four senior starters and an independent schedule that includes five 3A teams and two 4A schools, makes Rensselaer a threat for the regional title in 2A.

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Revised: January 27, 2005 .