Crown Point falls 65-43 at LaPorte in boys basketball

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-06-2009

Team /Record 1 2 3 4 Final
CROWN POINT (1-1, 0-1 DAC) 8 12 12 11 43
LaPORTE (3-0, 1-0 DAC) 14 14 18 19 65

Friday, December 4, 2009 - Duneland Athletic Conference opener at LaPORTE, IN

CROWN POINT (43)  Michael Albrecht 6-4-17, Sean Crary 5-2-12, Tony Patrick 0-1-1, Jordan Jurasevich 3-0-5, Billy Brown 1-0-2, Zak Bostian 1-1-3, Scooter Jacobus 0-0-0, Dejan Stefanovic 0-0-0, Peter Parks 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17 (7-18) 43.

LaPORTE (65)  Evan Jurjevic 1-0-2, Rich Leslie 6-4-15, Patrick Spence 5-2-14, Jacob Craft 3-6-12, Dustin DeMuth 5-10-20, Scott Vaughn 1-0-2, Emerson Cooper 0-0-0, Chris Webb 0-0-0, Damon Carnes 0-0-0, Jake Eaton 0-0-0. TOTALS: 20 (22-29) 65.

FREE THROWS:  CP (7-18, 38.9%) Michael Albrecht 4-6, Sean Crary 2-4, Tony Patrick 1-3, Evan Langbehn 0-3, Peter Parks 0-2; LaPORTE (22-29, 75.9%) Rich Leslie 4-7, Jacob Craft 6-7, Dustin DeMuth 10-11.

REBOUNDS:  CP (22) Jordan Jurasevich 5, Michael Albrecht 5, Sean Crary 4, Scooter Jacobus 2, Billy Brown 2, Evan Langbehn 2, Tony Patrick, Peter Parks; LaPORTE (29) Dustin DeMuth 10, Rich Leslie 4, Patrick Spence 3, Jacob Craft 4, Damon Carnes 4, Evan Jurjevic 3, Scott Vaughn 2.

ASSISTS:  CP (7) Michael Albrecht 6, Tony Patrick; LaPORTE (9) Dustin DeMuth 3, Evan Jurjevic 2, Rich Vaughn 2, Chris Webb, Rich Leslie.

STEALS:  CP (8) Michael Albrecht 3, Tony Patrick 2, Billy Brown 2, Zak Bostian; LaPORTE: (5) Dustin Demuth 3, Rich Leslie 2.

TURNOVERS:  CP 12, LaPORTE 16

3-GOALS:  CP (2) Michael Albrecht, Zak Bostian; LaPORTE (3) Jacob Craft 2, Rich Leslie.

FOULED OUT:  CP (1) Sean Crary (4th Q) 4:12 left.


LaPORTE, IN (12-04-2009)  In truth, the game might have been over before it began when Crown Point's 6-foot-9 junior center Jared Smoot did not make the bus trip to LaPorte County due to illness.  LaPorte, which had previously won two run-and-gun games with South Bend schools, was favored to win on their home court anyway and the resulting 65-43 victory was disappointing for CP, but not totally a shock.

It's not that Smoot is an outstanding player as of yet.  But CP is a very small team without him.  A very inexperienced team even with their new center.  Small and inexperienced won't win many games on the road in the Duneland Athletic Conference.

"We just have to get better," said CP coach Clint Swan after LaPorte pulled away in the second half in front of about 1,000 fans.  "I thought we played hard.  Everybody did what we asked.  We just have to find more scorers."

Crown Point (1-1), which scored only 41 points in the season-opening win over Hanover Central on Nov. 28, seems a little light in the holster.  At LaPorte, junior guards Michael Albrecht and Sean Crary combined for 30 points and the rest of the team combined for 13.

LaPorte (3-0), with no lack of firepower, had four players in double figures led by senior returning starter Dustin DeMuth, who scored 20, including 10 of 11 from the foul line.

"He's 6-foot-3," said LaPorte coach Tom Wells of DeMuth, who is the starting shortstop on the baseball team and the starting quarterback on the football team.  "But he's got a wing span of about 6-foot-8.  He's so athletic.  He'll cause a lot of mismatches.  He's a tough guard."

DeMuth is also a controversial player.  A Ron Artest/Dennis Rodman style instigator, the LaPorte star had more than one confrontation with CP players, especially the Bulldogs' junior forward Jordan Jurasevich, the Bulldog football teams' leading tackler.  Jurasevich ended the night with a bloody nose.  DeMuth was dumped on his head after a layup attempt.  And a good time was had by all in what, after all, was big school league basketball.

It was important that the smaller, less physical Bulldogs did not back down. There's 'only' 13 DAC games left to play.

"I thought we did well in that respect," said Swan who agreed that some of his boys may have been nervous in their first varsity road game and their first DAC game.  "I thought Spike and Sean played well.  But we've got to find more scoring options.  All of that (the 'firsts') made it hard."

LaPorte led 26-20 after a poor shooting first half, but started the third quarter with a 7-2 surge.  The Slicer defense recognized that either Crary or Albrecht would be shooting for the Bulldogs and everyone on the floor gave them special attention.

Crary, a very mobile 6-foot-1 junior, fouled out with 4:12 left in the game and the gap grew from 15 to 25 after he left.  Albrecht had 17 points, five assists and four steals with only one turnover.

DeMuth, who played inside most of the game, scored 20 with five rebounds, three steals and four well-earned fouls.  Crown Point used a 2-2-1 full court press to slow down the Slicers, but CP simply had no offense to counter the few points LaPorte put up in the first half.

"Their press gave us some problems," said Wells.  "And I don't think we ever totally got a handle on Albrecht.  I don't think we were that good.  But we made some adjustments at halftime and I think we moved the ball better."

There may be some hard feelings between the two teams, but the rematch won't happen until Feb. 11 at Crown Point and a lot of more important games will occur for both sides before then.

Swan apologized for being nonspecific and all-encompassing about what he thought of the game.

"We've just got to get better," he said.  "All around, we just have to get better."

DOG NOTES:  Crown Point center Jared Smoot, who had 10 rebounds in the opening win over Hanover, was home sick.  It was hoped he'd be back Tuesday, Dec. 8 at Morton or Friday, Dec. 11 at Lake Central.

Official team statistics had a 41-29 rebound advantage for LaPorte, but those totals included 12 'team rebounds,' whatever those are.  An unofficial total had LaPorte winning the rebounding battle 29-22.

LaPorte will play Class 4A No. 2 North Central at Purdue University on Saturday, Jan. 2.  Except for Christmas Day, Crown Point plays every Tuesday and Friday in the month of December.

The CP starting five included Michael Albrecht, Sean Crary, Billy Brown, Evan Langbehn and Scooter Jacobus.  The loss broke a four-game CP winning streak against LaPorte.  The Bulldogs have still won seven of the last nine from the Slicers.


2010 CROWN POINT Bulldogs (1-1)
Coach: Clint Swan, 44-24 (4th year) 15-8 (2009), 17-7 (2008), 12-9 (2007)
All games begin with JV game at 6:00 p.m.

Nov. 28 (W) 41-39 Hanover Central (3-1)
Dec. 4 (L) 43-65 at LaPorte (3-0)
Dec. 8 (Tues) at Morton (0-2)
Dec. 11 (F) Lake Central
Dec. 15 (Tues) Valparaiso
Dec. 18 (F) at Michigan City
Dec. 22 (Tues) Griffith
Dec. 29 (Tues) at Merrillville
Jan. 2 (Sat) at Portage
Jan. 8 (Fri) Chesterton
Jan. 15 (Fri) at Lake Central
Jan. 22 (Fri) Michigan City
Jan. 23 (Sat) at East Chicago
Jan. 29 (Fri.) at Valparaiso
Jan. 30 (Sat) Boone Grove
Feb. 5 (F) Merrillville
Feb. 11 (Thurs) LaPorte
Feb. 19 (Fri.) Portage
Feb. 20 (Sat.) at Lowell
Feb. 26 (Fri.) at Chesterton

Michigan City (4A) Sectional
March 2 (Tu.) quarterfinals
March 5 (Fri) semifinals
March 6 (Sat) championship

Michigan City (4A) Regional
March 13 (Sat.) semifinals (a.m.)
March 13 (Sat.) championship (p.m.)


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Revised: December 08, 2009 .