Bulldogs' offensive output highest since 1971 in 96-67 win over Portage

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-24-2006

Friday, 12-22-2006 at Crown Point, IN - Duneland Athletic Conference game

PORTAGE (67)  Eric Speer 4-0-12, Luke Wheeler 2-2-6, Reece Mussman 5-1-13, Josh Prazidad 1-0-2, Andrew Farmer 1-0-2, Aaron Ciesielksi 6-0-12, Andrew Coban 2-2-6, Mike Disney 1-1-3, Kyle Johnson 1-0-2, DJ Anderson 3-1-9.  TOTALS:  26 (3-7, 42.8%) 67.

CROWN POINT (96)  Kyle Hanaway 2-0-4, Aleks Alavanja 4-3-11, Zach Cecich 12-0-24, Stephen Albrecht 10-4-30, Ben Derks 3-0-7, Billy Cox 3-0-6, Andrew Krumwied 5-0-10, Derrick Garletts 1-0-2, Michael Lipton 1-0-2, CJ Mantel 0-0-0, Dustin Hunt 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 41 (7-9, 77.7%) 96.

FREE THROWS:  Portage (3-7, 42.7%) Mussman 1-1, Anderson 1-1, Disney 1-3, Farmer 0-2;   CROWN POINT (7-9, 77.7%) Albrecht 4-4, Alavanja 3-4, Lipton 0-1.

REBOUNDS:  PORTAGE (16) Disney 5, Farmer 4, Ciesielski 3, Wheeler 2, Coban, Prazidad;   CROWN POINT (38) Alavanja 15, Cecich 9, Hanaway 6, Albrecht 4, Derks 2, Lipton 2, Krumwied.

ASSISTS:  PORTAGE (11) Mussman 3, Coban 3, Prazidad 2, Disney, Wheeler, Johnson; CP (27) Hanaway 14, Lipton 4, Cox 3, Albrecht 2, Cecich 2, Alavanja, Derks.

STEALS:  PORTAGE (11) Coban 3, Anderson 3, Disney 2, Wheeler 2, Mussman;  CP (9)  Lipton 4, Hanaway 2, Alavanja, Albrecht, Derks.

3-GOALS:  PORTAGE (12) Eric Speer 4,  CJ Anderson 2, Luke Wheeler 2, Reece Mussman 2, Andrew Coban 2;  CP (7) Stephen Albrecht 6, Ben Derks.

CROWN POINT, IN (12-22-2006) - Crown Point was very good Friday night and they were in the right place at the right time.  For Portage, left's be honest.  They had very little luck this week and what they had was all bad.  It wasn't much of a game Friday.  Portage's 'platoon' style of fast break basketball featuring five man hockey style substitutions suffered horribly when top scorers Albert Evans and Chris Moss were unable to play.  Crown Point, which prefers fast break basketball, found the Indians' hurry-up game very much to their liking and they poured on the points, routing Portage 96-67 for the Bulldogs' third consecutive win.

Portage (2-6) tried to run and trap a team that clearly has worked hard against that strategy since they lost a good lead against Morton on Dec. 5 in a 60-52 loss.  Junior wing guard Stephen Albrecht scored a career-high 30 points, 6-6 junior forward Aleks Alavanja grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds and 6-1 point guard Kyle Hanaway passed out a career-best 14 assists as CP did almost anything they wanted against the shorthanded Indians.

It was a really bad show, but the Bulldogs welcomed it.  CP posted a season-high 32 points in the first quarter as Portage made six five man substitutions of running pressing players who were shredded by CP.  Hanaway simply attacked the trap and fed Albrecht for some of his 22 first half points or center Zach Cecich for some of his 16 first half points.  Albrecht hit four three-pointers in the second quarter and he was knocked down twice, giving him the chance to make two four-point plays.

The biggest lead was 64-28 before the Indians stemmed the tide and put up good numbers late against a combination of CP second stringers and JV players.

"When we play well in this style, we look very good," said Portage coach Steve Bartos, who has invested heavily into this jail-break, wave style of offense that Calumet (4-2) also uses.

"When we don't, we look horrible. That's what happened tonight," admitted Bartos.  "Our margin of error in this conference is very small."

Crown Point coach Clint Swan cautioned post-game well-wishers not to put too much stock into the size of this rout, citing that Evans (15.5 ppg.) and Moss (11.1 ppg.) didn't play.

"You never feel you are totally prepared," said Swan.  "Our kids came out and were on the attack and they got the ball where it needed to go.  Their kids were shaken by the fact that they lost their top two scorers before the game.  Give them credit.  They played hard until the end.  Our kids set a very poised and focused tone and our 'big three' had a lot to do with it."

"Hanaway was magical with his passes in the first half, recalled Swan.  "He made some passes right in people's hands.  Steve (Albrecht) hit some big shots and Cecich was a load inside."

A crowd of about 500 fans was dwindling by halftime as the five-man substitutions of Portage fell further and further behind made the game seem like an exhibition.  It was the Indians' worst game of the year and it came against the team best suited to exploit their weaknesses.

"We have played well this year," said Bartos.  "We played well against Chesterton and we played well against Michigan City (an 88-81 loss on Dec. 1).  But we weren't ready to play tonight and I don't know how that can be.  It would be different if I went to some guys who had never played before.  But, in our style, everybody plays.  You know you're going to play."

It would seem that once you've committed to the full court 'push the ball' style, you really can't adjust and hold the ball when you're shorthanded.  CP's superior size dominated the boards with Alavanja jumping high for 15 rebounds and starting numerous fast breaks.

"It isn't a question of whether he can do it," said Swan, who previously had cited Alavanja as one of the keys to the Bulldog season.  "We know he can do it.  It was just a matter of when.  He didn't wait for the rebounds to come to him.  He went after them.  I was very pleased with that."

Senior center Andy Krumwied came off the bench to score 10 points and sophomore guard Michael Lipton committed two turnovers in his first two possessions, but then stole the ball four times and dished out four assists.  The only downer for CP was that the Bulldogs did not score 100 points for the first time in 35 years.  Crown Point inserted three JV players in the final five minutes or they would have broken 100.  But there's no getting happy.  Arch-rival Merrillville is next.

"Our 600-pound gorilla in the room is next Friday," noted Swan.  "I've been listening to it (Merrillville's long domination of CP ) for six months ever since I got the job.  Hopefully, it'll be a very exciting contest."

DOG TALES:  Merrillville has beaten Crown Point 16 consecutive times dating back to 1998.  The cold facts are that the Pirates have won 34 of 36 games from CP going back to 1984 and the all-time series is led by Merrillville 87-44.

Albert Evans, who ran for 1,600 yards on the football field last fall, will miss six weeks after he reportedly punched a locker and broke his right hand.  Evans attended Friday's game and sat on the bench with his hand in a large bandage and a decidedly unhappy look on his face.  Moss, a 5-10 guard who averaged in double figures in the first seven games, was suspended for a very common violation of the student athletic code.  He is not injured. 

It is not certain when Moss will be allowed to play again, but coach Steve Bartos says, "He will be back.  We hope to have Albert back by the final week in January."

The case of Lake Station's 6-foot-3 Chris Davis is still interesting.  Davis, a transfer originally from Elkhart, had a dunking and high-flying debut against Hanover Central, playing for Lake Station in November.  Since then, he has left Lake Station and is now attending school at Portage.  Odds are he will not be eligible to do anything this year, but that is not certain because, apparently, he lived in Portage all along.  If Davis, who is still a very raw player, ever gets to play for Portage, he could fit in perfectly with coach Steve Bartos' jail-break style attack.  There is no one in NW Indiana with more leaping ability than Chris Davis.

Junior CP forward Mitch Robinson did not play and did not dress.

Portage used a 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Luke Wheeler who showed natural ball handling skills.

"I thought Wheeler did a very good job," said CP coach Clint Swan.  "All things considered, I thought the two boys who replaced them (Evans and Moss) did a great job."

The last time CP scored 100 points was a 1971 victory over Lowell 105-60 when Harry Allison was coach.  Stephen Albrecht scored 28 points on Dec. 15 against Michigan City.  Albrecht, who is now averaging 18.4 per game, scored 26 in a game last winter against Lowell.  Cecich has scored in double figures in all seven games so far.

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Revised: December 24, 2006 .