Bulldogs' break Pirates' 16-game streak with 68-63 win

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
01-03-2007

Friday, 12-29-2006 at Crown Point, IN - Duneland Athletic Conference game

MERRILLVILLE (63)  Bo Patton 5-3-14, Jonothan Nwannunu 3-0-6, Ryan Smith 6-2-14, Mario Stapleton 1-1-3, Anthony Anderson 3-0-6, Josh White 4-0-8, Aireus Stephenson 2-0-5, Marquis Green 2-3-7.  TOTALS: 26 (9-19) 63.

CROWN POINT (68)  Kyle Hanaway 1-7-9, Aleks Alavanja 7-2-16, Zach Cecich 6-0-12, Stephen Albrecht 5-4-15, Ben Derks 5-2-16, Andy Krumwied 0-0-0, Billy Cox 0-0-0, Michael Lipton 0-0-0, Derrick Garletts 0-0-0.  TOTALS: 24 (15-19) 68.

FREE THROWS:  MERRILLVILLE (9-19, 47.3%) Patton 3-3, Nwannunu 0-2, Smith 2-5, Stapleton 1-1, Anderson 0-4, Green 3-4;  CROWN POINT (15-19, 78.9%) Hanaway 7-8, Alavanja 2-2, Cecch 0-1, Albrecht 4-4, Derks 2-2, Cox 0-2.

ASSISTS:  MERRILLVILLE (9) Stapleton 4, Anderson 3, White 2;  CROWN POINT (18) Hanaway 9, Albrecht 5, Alavanja 2, Derks, Cecich.

REBOUNDS:  MERRILLVILLE (23) Green 7, Anderson 5, Smith 4, Nwannunu 3, White 3, Stapleton;  CROWN POINT (21)  Alavanja 5, Hanaway 5, Albrecht 4, Cecich 3, Krumwied 2, Derks, Cox.

STEALS:  MERRILLVILLE (6) Stapleton 3 Anderson 2, White;  CROWN POINT (5) Albrecht 2, Hanaway 2, Derks.

CROWN POINT, IN (12-29-2006) - It didn't feel like an earth-shaking win.  It didn't feel like a landmark.  I guess we'll know in two months.  Crown Point's 68-63 win over Merrillville, the first CP win over the Pirates since March of 1998, was met with no more than the usual celebrating after a Friday night victory.  The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-3 DAC) got back to the .500 mark and closed out the calendar year with a four game winning streak.

"I didn't have to say anything to them about this game," said first year coach Clint Swan, a newcomer to Northwest Indiana's most lopsided boys basketball series.  "They know all about the history."

You almost forgot the numbers.  Merrillville had won 16 consecutive games from Crown Point since a 60-49 Bulldog victory on March 7, 1998.  The Pirates had won 34 of 36 from CP in the last 22 seasons.  Merrillville has led the all-time series 87-44.  Is all that over?

Crown Point trailed 5-0 before the home team got going in front of about 1,200 fans.  Center Zach Cecich scored four first quarter baskets as the Bulldogs forged a 16-11 lead.  Hanaway, who averages over nine assists per game, hit teammate Ben Derks for three three-point baskets in the first half as CP still led a fast paced game 26-22 with 5:50 left in the half.

The athletic Pirates got to the basket, but they lacked the shooting skill to knock down open jumpers.  CP edged ahead in the third quarter as Aleks Alavanja freed himself up for some quick passes from guards Stephen Albrecht and Kyle Hanaway.  The Pirates' sophomore forwards 6-6 Ryan Smith and 6-7 Jonathan Nwannunu were not consistent scoring threats and couldn't get anything more than a standoff with CP's 6-6 Alavanja and 6-3 Cecich.  But Merrillville had lacked scoring and rebounding in games against CP in the past and they won anyway.  What was lacking on this night was Merrillville's defensive dominance.  The Pirates had no answer for Hanaway and Albrecht.

"It was big deal," said Hanaway, who didn't want make too much of beating Merrillville, probably because CP could play the Pirates twice more this year.  "In practice, we were just working on sagging in the lane.  Trying to prevent splits for easy baskets.  But they're quick.  They got some easy points."

Merrillville is losing the close ones and it probably stems from the fact that they have two transfers and a lot of new varsity players.  There seemed to be no one leader on the floor at key moments.

"What is it?" asked assistant coach Leo Bonin.  "Five losses now by 20 points?  We're not going to make excuses.  We don't really have guys who understand what it is to wear the purple.  They don't really understand that yet.  There's a lot of tradition and intensity involved.  It's not going to be given to them.  They have to find it inside.  That's where we're at right now as a team."

Crown Point is clearly on the rise, although with the legal gymnastics involving East Chicago and 6-10 junior Angel Garcia (who now figures to be on the floor when CP plays EC later this month) and the high profile of DAC leader Valparaiso, no one has noticed yet.

"It was hard going 0-4," said Swan, who seemed outwardly conscious of the fact that the season isn't even half over yet.  "The boys heard some things around school that weren't good.  They took some abuse.  But I didn't think we played that badly.  Tonight we persevered in the late going.  We moved the ball well and we rebounded well.  Now we've got to get ready to play a very good Washington team (Jan. 1).  And then Chesterton (Jan. 5).  We really didn't get a Christmas break.  But it's an honor to play (Washington) in this tournament.  We want to play as many good teams as we can."

DOG TALES:  Crown Point football star Matt Ernest, who set all-time records as a pass receiver in three varsity seasons, is going to join the Bulldog basketball team.  Ernest, a senior who was on the CP bench Friday night, will return to active duty after the Chesterton game on Jan. 6.  It is rare that a player who was not with his team on opening night by choice (not injured or ineligible) would be allowed to join at mid-season.  But CP has only one senior in backup center Andy Krumwied.  Any playing time Ernest might take away from a present CP varsity player is softened by the fact that they all come back next year and he doesn't.

"He is a special case for a lot of different reasons," said coach Clint Swan of the 6-foot-2 senior.  "The biggest of which is that he's so talented in all the different sports he's in, he's spread very thin in terms of time to prepare.  We were aware of that and we decided to give him a shot."

"He came to us and he's eligible on Jan. 12.  He's doing a great job in practice.  We have a real good dynamic on this team and he fits in with that dynamic."

Ernest is a 6-foot-2 guard along the lines of teammate Stephan Albrecht.  When he was a JV player as a sophomore, Ernest had point guard skills and was a strong defender.

"We've been encouraging him to come out," Kyle Hanaway said.  "We're going to be tough to beat with him out there.  He's just so athletic.  He'll help us on defense for sure.  He can lock people up for sure."

Basketball people can exaggerate, but you don't have to mount a search party to find several people at CPHS who believe that Ernest is as good as anyone presently on CP's varsity.  The only backup guards CP has right now are junior Billy Cox and sophomore JV player Michael Lipton.

The Bulldogs play 3A power Washington (5-2) at 4:45 p.m. on New Year's Day at Valparaiso University.  Wheeler's girls play Attica at 3:15 p.m. and Valparaiso, which lost to undefeated Indianapolis Cathedral (7-0) Friday at the Hall-of-Fame tournament, plays Chicago Washington at 7:00 p.m. Monday.

Privately, many at CP are stunned with the assist numbers Hanaway (9.6 per game) is putting up.  He has no relatives or girlfriends keeping the assist statistics.  It helps to have sure-handed teammates who can score.  But if you watch the games, these are real numbers.

"He makes everyone better," said coach Clint Swan.  "I don't want to say too much but he's just been great so far." 

The official total of 10 assists in the Merrillville game marks the fourth time in eight games Hanaway has been in double figure in assists.  No one has done that at CP in at least 20 years.  With up-tempo teams like Chesterton, East Chicago and Boone Grove (not to mention rematches with run-and-gunners Portage and Michigan City) left on the schedule, Hanaway's averages figure to remain where they are if his teammates stay healthy.

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Revised: January 03, 2007 .