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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=28180

CITY OVER .500
H.S. Basketball Preview

Zack Eldridge
Staff Writer

Michigan City (5-4, 2-4 Duneland): vs. Valparaiso, 6 tonight; vs. Chesterton, 6 p.m. Friday

Sitting one game over the .500 mark, Michigan City's boys basketball team will see exactly where it stands when it hosts Class 4A No. 3 Valparaiso tonight in a rescheduled game from last Friday night.

The Wolves have already won two more games than they did all of last season when they finished 3-18. In fact, it only took City six games to eclipse last season's win total. The Wolves have alternated wins and losses since a Dec. 11 setback at Chesterton. City dropped its last contest, a 54-50 overtime home loss to Lake Central last Friday night.

A season ago, the Wolves fell in both games to the Vikings, losing 64-26 on the road, and 67-44 at home.

Alajowon Edwards paces City, averaging 12.5 points per game, while Adam Harmon tallies 10.3 points an outing.

Valparaiso enters this contest 9-1, with its lone loss coming to then-Class 4A No. 8 Carmel, 65-62, in the Super Hoops New Year Classic at Mackey Arena on Jan. 2.

The Vikings edged Merrillville 61-58 in their last game last Tuesday night. Valparaiso sits atop the DAC with a 6-0 conference mark, a half a game ahead of the Pirates.

On Friday night, City faces Chesterton in the Wolves Den.

Last season, the Wolves dropped both meetings against the Trojans, losing 54-36 at home and 72-49 on the road.

City has lost nine straight against Chesterton, with the last four coming by double digits.

The Trojans begin this week 4-5 and 3-4 in the DAC. They fell in their last outing, a 57-49 setback at Crown Point.

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http://www.regionsports.com/index.php?opti...&Itemid=365

BOYS BASKETBALL: Peak Performers for Week of 1/4

Alajowon Edwards – Michigan City Wolves
Making the move to Michigan City to continue playing for John Boyd was a good move for both the team and Alajowon Edwards. Though the Wolves lost an overtime thriller to Lake Central on Tuesday night 54-50, the play of Edwards continues to please the “City” fans. In the loss, the 6’2” junior scored a game high 20 points, but it would have much sweeter with a “W”.

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Lucky City, huh? We get the full game of when he is hurt, and his first game back.

http://www.post-trib.com/sports/highschool...0110.highschool

McGary, who has only two of the IHSAA-mandated six practices in, returns to Chesterton's lineup Friday, when the Trojans travel to Michigan City.

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Well the Wolves played about 3 1/2 quarters of great basketball against the #3 rated team in the state of Indiana, unfortunately it wasn't enough as Valpo put together a 15-4 run to end the game and win it 45-32 at the Wolves Den.

Senior Adam Harmon had a great night, trying to will City to victory all by himself, as he led all scores with 20 points last night. Harmon shot a great three point shot, and played tough defense, but it just was not enough. Alajowon Edwards also chipped in 9 points, and once you added Shereff Knight's 3 points, that was all of the scoring for the Wolves.

The Wolves had many opportunities, and were as close as 30-28 early in the 4th quarter, but they just couldn't change the composure of the game late. Clutch shooting for the Vikings ended up pushing them to 10-1 on the season and 7-0 in the Duneland. The Wolves fell to 5-5 and 2-5 in conference play.

Friday night will see the Wolves take on Chesterton at the Den.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...ArticleID=28189

WOLVES HANG WITH NO. 3 VALPO

Drew White
Sports Writer

MICHIGAN CITY - John Boyd isn't usually one that will take solace in moral victories, but he was more than happy with the effort his Michigan City boys basketball team showed Tuesday night.

The Wolves used solid defense to hang with Class 4A No. 3 Valparaiso until the final minutes of the contest before the Vikings pulled away for a 45-32 win at the Wolves Den.

"I was proud of my guys tonight," said City's Boyd. "I tell people, 'We never lose, we learn.' I think we learned a lot tonight about our confidence and what we're capable of doing."

The 13-point margin of victory is in no way indicative of how close the Wolves were on the heels of the Vikings. As late as the midway point of the fourth quarter, the Wolves trailed by only three points at 33-30.

Soon thereafter, Valparaiso used a barrage of 3-pointers to extend the lead and ultimately pull away for the win.

"They were breathing down our necks," said Vikings head coach Joe Otis. "Pushing it to six created a little anxiety for them and then they hurried a shot. The next thing you know, it's 11."

Michigan City was led by a game-high 20 points from senior Adam Harmon. Harmon did his best to orchestrate the Wolves to the upset, but his performance was highly lauded by Otis.

"Harmon, on those broad shoulders of his, really carries that ballclub," said Otis. "He's a warrior. I'd love to coach that kid. He's fearless. He's done a great job of leading this team."

Boyd said after the game that it is essential to see consistency in the type of play that Harmon demonstrated Tuesday night.

"It is very important for us to have Adam remain consistent," said Boyd. "It's been an up and down season for Adam. We need that from him and Alajowon (Edwards), and we need to find that third scorer."

Defense defined the game for both teams, as the Vikings held City to an average of eight points per quarter, and the Wolves held Valparaiso to 45 points, which is nearly 24 points lower than the Valparaiso average of 68.9 points per game heading in.

"I think our defense was solid. We slowed them down and kept them from doing some things," said Boyd. "That's a good Valpo team. They know where their options are, they shoot the ball with confidence."

Otis knew his team was in for trouble when, despite holding the Wolves to such a low offensive output, City stood with a chance to win late.

"I was really disappointed with how we played offense for three-and-a-half quarters," said Otis. "We hold someone to eight points a quarter, that's pretty darn good defensively, especially in this league. They are a great defensive team.

"They really get out and disrupt things. You can't run regular patterns against them."

The game marked Otis' first against City's Boyd and Otis was very complimentary to the Wolves' first year coach.

"John was a great addition to the Duneland. We finally got someone who has won a state championship," said Otis. "He's a great coach, he's a disciplinarian. You don't have that kind of success without demanding a lot out of his kids. He had his kids ready to play.

"They caused us a lot of problems."

Valparaiso (10-1, 7-0 DAC) was led in scoring by Adam Butterfield with 14 points, followed by 10 from Andy Martin.

Other than Harmon, the only other Wolves able to dent the scoreboard were Alajowon Edwards with nine points and Shereff Knight with three. City fell to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the DAC.

Despite the loss, Boyd is optimistic that the Wolves are progressing nicely.

"I'm very impressed with our team because they're beginning to buy in to what we are trying to do here," said Boyd. "I think people will be impressed with us as we move on.

"As this season progresses, the Wolves are getting better."

Contact Sports Writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...1a606160592.txt

Friday, Jan. 15, during halftime at the Michigan City High School basketball game, the Michigan City Pop Warner Junior Pee Wee Football team will be recognized for their achievements. Our community has shown great support and has cheered them on all the way to the Super Bowl at Walt Disney World in December. Please come out and help honor this group of children. The game starts at 7 p.m. Thank you for your support! Go Wolves!

Erica Iacovetti, Parent

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Michigan City wins a big Duneland Conference game against Chesterton, avenging their early season loss against the Trojans. The Wolves used an 11-0 run in the first quarter, which was keyed by 3 big three point field goals by James Sanders. The Wolves led by as many as 18 points in this one, but Chesterton clawed back in it, using pressure defense and their top rated center Mitch McGary as their big weapons. McGary didn't have nearly as good of a night as he had the first time against City, getting held to 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks, after getting the Wolves for 27-20 and 6 the first time around. Michigan City was led by James Sanders 19 big points on the night, but got great free throw shooting down the stretch to hold on and win this one. Michigan City improves to 6-5 on the season, and ties the Trojans for 5th in the Duneland at a mark of 3-5. The Wolves travel to Kanakee Valley tomorrow to take on the 2-8 Kougars.

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In the category of FWIW, this was City's first win over Chesterton since Jan 14, 2005.

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http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...fc762114547.txt

Strong all the way

By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, January 16, 2010 4:15 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — Prior to Friday, Michigan City junior James Sanders was a little used reserve for coach John Boyd.

After observing Sanders working hard in practice, Boyd inserted him into the starting lineup for the first time against Chesterton.

Sanders made his coach look like a genius.

Despite not making a 3-pointer all season, Sanders made four in the first quarter to help put Chesterton in a hole it would never get out of as City went on to a 60-55 win at the Wolves to snap a two-game home losing streak.

“The kid didn’t even play a lot last year, but we thought it was time to let him loose,” Boyd said of Sanders.

In the first quarter, the left-handed Sanders made trey after trey, his four makes helping give the Wolves a 19-8 lead after the first quarter. He’d finish with a career-high 19 points, adding he thought his previous career high was only two or three points.

“After I got that first one my team saw I was hot and kept giving it to me,” Sanders said. “Coach told me to just play with confidence.”

Chesterton coach Tom Peller was stunned at Sanders’ outbreak.

“Hey, the guy made them and that’s part of high school basketball,” Peller said. “City really shot the 3 well, and that’s not typical of what they do. But they got out to a big lead and we couldn’t quite overcome it.”

City (6-5, 3-5 Duneland) made 7-of-14 from 3-point territory for the game, but five of those makes came in the first quarter.

By halftime City had a 32-17 lead and had held Chesterton junior Mitch McGary to just seven points and one rebound. McGary made his return to the lineup after missing six games with a broken foot. The last game he played in was a 60-47 win over City in which he had 27 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots before injuring his foot late in the game.

“We were a little out of sync with Mitch,” Peller said. “We were a little stagnant and we didn’t run our offense well.”

McGary came alive in the second half and helped spark a run that got the Trojans (5-6, 3-5 DAC) back in the game.

With 1:04 to play in the third, City’s Carlos McCormick hit a 3-pointer to give City its biggest lead of the game at 44-27. Remy Lewis made a trey for Chesterton and then McGary converted a three-point play to start a 10-0 Chesterton run.

While the Trojans cut into the deficit, they never trailed by less than six points again until a pair of free throws from Fred Price cut the advantage to five at 54-49.

After a City bucket, Price then nailed a triple on the other end to make it a four-point City lead with 37.6 seconds to play.

City’s Adam Harmon and Chesterton’s Alec Houpt each made two free throws on successive possessions but City’s Reggie Clay missed the front end of a one-and-bonus with 18.8 seconds left to open the door for the Trojans.

Price split two free throws with 12.2 seconds to play, but missed the second on purpose to try and get the ball back. However, he was called for a lane violation on the play, giving the ball to City.

Alajowon Edwards made the game-clinching free throws for City to put the win on ice, even if Boyd wasn’t pleased with how the first quarter played out.

“It seemed like we wanted to give it away,” Boyd said. “Those things we have to stop, like the mental errors and we have to do a lot better job controlling the tempo.”

McGary finished with 18 points, seven boards and five blocked shots.

“It’s always nice to have him out there, but we’ve gotta get him in game shape,” Peller said.

As for Sanders, he’s hopeful his breakout performance was good enough to stay in the lineup for a while.

“I really wasn’t expecting this,” Sanders said. “But coach knows I play hard and he knows how to make good decisions (with the lineup).”

Boyd was happy Sanders got his moment to shine.

“That kid has done a complete turn as far as being a member of our community,” Boyd said. “I couldn’t be more delighted that a guy like James Sanders helped Michigan City win a game against Chesterton.

“It couldn’t happen to a better guy.”

Notes: Once again, City’s junior varsity team used a late run to get a win. The Wolves went on a 14-0 run to end the game and win 27-24. ... The win snapped City’s 10-game losing streak to the Trojans. The last win came on Jan. 14, 2005, a 67-63 win at Chesterton in Zack Novak’s freshman year with the Trojans. Novak is now a starter at the University of Michigan. ... At the half Friday, City led 32-17 despite its two leading scorers — Harmon and Edwards — combining to score just four points on 2-for-11 shooting.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

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Michigan City suffers a huge scare down at 3A Kanakee Valley, but they come out with a thrilling finish for a 57-55 victory over the Kougars. City started out hot, building leads of 12-3 and 29-28 but KV rallied with a 12-2 run to close out the second quarter and make a close game of things. Taylor Lavery and Alajuwon Edwards led the way in the first half offensively. They finished the game with 11 and 12 points respectively. The second half was a nip and tuck game with neither team taking a lead larger than 4 points. The end of the game proved to be worth the price if admission if you were there. In a wild sequence at the end, Adam Harmon was the victim of a terrible charge call as he was trying to hit the game winning shot in a tie game at 55. The turnover left the Kougars 5.2 second to work the full length of the court, but Harmon stripped Zach Overby at half court and ran back and hit a layup a fraction of a second before the end of the game to win it for Michigan City. Adam led the Wolves with 15 points, including 13 in the second half. Michigan City improved to 7-5 on the season, while Kankakee Valley falls to 2-9.

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http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...64874733293.txt

The Best Offense Is A Good 'D'

Home Cookin'
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, January 17, 2010 4:16 AM CST
To tell you the truth, I liked Friday’s second quarter much better than the first.

Sure, the first quarter in Michigan City’s game with Chesterton on Friday was a crowd pleaser. Junior James Sanders made four 3-pointers and sophomore Carlos McCormick added a fifth and the Wolves led 19-8 after eight minutes of play.

But that was a fluke in many ways. Sanders hadn’t made a trey all season and the Wolves have been an overall inconsistent team from the 3-point line all season.

Now, that second quarter. That’s what it’s all about for 2009-10 City basketball.

Yes, I know. The Wolves only outscored the Trojans 13-9 in that stanza, but I’m referring more to the way in which it happened.

City had good defensive pressure and turned the opportunities that pressure created into offense on the other end.

Folks, that’s City’s best formula for success. You want to know what their offensive identity is? Defense!

The reverse of the old adage holds true here: The best offense is a good defense.

All season, coach John Boyd has talked about his team establishing an offensive identity. The problem is, one hasn’t really developed.

Sure, it was a lot of fun to watch all those 3-pointers go down Friday night. But you can’t count on making five 3-pointers every quarter. Most games it’s tough to make five.

But what you can count on is defense. Any coach worth his salt tells his or her players that’s the one constant.

See, you can have an off shooting night. That happens all the time. Some games, you just don’t have it.

But what you can always do is play defense. That’s heart, determination and effort.

City can play defense, I assure you. The Wolves have done it all season. They allow just 53.2 points per game, third best in the Duneland Conference behind only Valparaiso and Lake Central. Offensively, the Wolves score just 52.5 points per game. Only DAC bottom feeder Portage is lower.

So why not embrace that identity? Rally behind it. In the postseason, the teams that defend the best tend to do the best.

And to be honest, I see reason to be excited for the postseason here.

Just look at City’s schedule. At 6-5, the Wolves have a of couple notable near-misses. In two losses to the top two teams in the DAC — Valparaiso and Merrillville — City easily could have converted those into two wins. Against Valpo, the Wolves trailed by one possession with the ball midway through the fourth quarter. They also played the Pirates tight throughout, but foul trouble helped seal the Wolves’ fate there.

City took a 13-point loss to Chesterton, but looked good in avenging that Friday. The four-point loss to Lake Central remains a blemish nobody in the locker room is happy with. Only the 17-point loss to La Porte was truly out of reach.

Of course, the results against fellow DAC schools is significant because the eight-team sectional is the DAC minus Lake Central with Hobart rounding out the field.

So maybe City’s offensive identity has been staring us in the face all season. Maybe it is just as simple as cranking up defensive pressure and converting opportunities created into points on the other end.

Boyd has been saying all season that his Wolves will be tougher to beat in the second half of the season once players and coaches figure everything out.

It appears to me we are about to reach that point.

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

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http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...48947607534.txt

Aiming To Down ’Dogs Again

Scott Allen/For The News-Dispatch City’s Alajowon Edwards goes one-on-one against Chesterton’s Mitch McGary during second-half action Saturday at the Wolves Den.
High School Basketball Week Preview
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 4:16 AM CST
After three games in one week, Michigan City’s boys basketball team now gets all the time it needs to focus on just one opponent.

City went 2-1 last week with wins over Chesterton and a buzzer-beating victory at Class 3A Kankakee Valley. But this week, the Wolves get to focus solely on sweeping the season series with Crown Point, where City travels Friday for a 6 p.m. junior varsity tip.

On Dec. 18, City beat Crown Point 53-47 at the Wolves Den behind 21 points from junior Alajowon Edwards, who will come into this game averaging a team-best 12 points per game.

A win would give City (7-5, 3-5 Duneland) its longest win streak of the season at three and potentially put City into a tie for fourth place in the Duneland Conference, pending La Porte’s result with Valparaiso on Friday.

Crown Point (5-6, 2-6 DAC) comes into this game after a loss to Lake Central, but won its two previous games against Portage and Chesterton.

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The Wolves travel out to Crown Point and go down to defeat 49-39. The Wolves for the first time on the season had no one in double figures, and were led in scoring by James Sanders for the second time in the last three games, this time with nine points. The Wolves were out-rebounded 25-14 in this one, as 6'10" Jared Smoot had 10 points and 13 rebounds, including 7 offensive, giving the Bulldogs many second chances. City did a great job on the DAC's leading scorer Michael Albrecht, keeping him scoreless in the first half, and to half of his season average, by only allowing him 11 points. Adam Harmon, Shereff Knight, Jabbar Washington, and Carlos McCormick all put in lots of time against Albrecht who was face-guarded even without the ball for the entire game.

The Wolves had a chance late, as a couple of free throws from Alajuwon Edwards brought MC as close as 41-39, but CP closed it out with an 8-0 run, 6 points of which came from the free throw line. Michigan City falls to 7-6 on the season and 3-6 in Duneland play, Crown Point gets back to .500 at 6-6 and 3-6 in the DAC.

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http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/01/26...1a583802874.txt

Michigan City vs. Merrillville (6 p.m. Friday) — In the up-and-down season that has been 2009-10 Michigan City Wolves basketball, a Dec. 15 loss at Merrillville stands as one of City’s best efforts of the season.

The Pirates (10-2, 7-2 Duneland) beat the Wolves (7-6, 3-6 DAC) just 63-55 that night at Merrillville, and City was in the game every step of the way behind a big night from sophomore guard Carlos McCormick.

Friday at the Wolves Den, City will look to even up the season series against Merrillville as the Wolves start a four-game homestand, their last home games of the season.

City’s coming off a tough loss at Crown Point. Despite holding the Bulldogs to just 27 points through three quarters and limiting the DAC’s leading scorer Michael Albrecht to just two points through the same time period, City took a 49-39 defeat.

Merrillville’s coming off just its second loss of the season, a 74-71 overtime setback to Lake Central.

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http://heraldargus.com/articles/2010/01/28...19953812566.txt

PCC has it right; DAC take notice

Jake Kitchell (23) and South Central played an instant-classic with Hanover Central last week in the finals of the Porter County Conference Tournament. (Robb Quinn)
Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010 7:53 AM CST
Adam Parkhouse

Usually around this time of year I have thoughts about how much I dislike the double round robin for basketball in the Duneland Conference.

I think having 14 of your 20 games set aside for conference action is a bit excessive. Plus, as most coaches also believe, it’s neat to be able to play as many different teams as possible.

But today, my friends, instead of just rambling about the inadequacies of a silly scheduling system I come to you with a solution.

I’m sure I’m not the first to have this idea, but it came to me last week when I was covering the Porter County Conference Tournament.

I arrived about an hour early for South Central’s opening round game against Kouts, and was shocked at what I found when I arrived. Host-school Hebron’s ample parking lot was already filled (there was a game before South Central’s). Only parking at the adjacent elementary school was available. I would have been better off parking at the H-A and hoofing it.

When I walked into the gym I saw the enthusiasm of the crowd, both adults and from the student section. They love this tournament, which has now completed its 87th year.

Then it hit me: The Duneland Conference should absolutely be doing this. There shouldn’t even be a debate. Kill the double round robin, which most coaches loathe anyway, and in place of the second trip through the league start a conference tournament.

Doesn’t that seem like a nice, middle-of-the-road solution?

“I don’t know if I can speak for all the coaches, but based on our end-of-year meetings over the last seven years,” La Porte coach Tom Wells said, “all of us would vote to do something different.”

Wells noted that the votes among the coaches to toss the double round robin out the door has always been either 8-0 or 7-1. When he was coach at Prairie Heights in the Northeast Corner Conference, he was part of an electric conference touranment atmosphere.

“When I was in the NECC, that was a fun week,” Wells said.

Wells even wondered if there might be a way to do some kind of conference shootout with a league like the Northern Indiana Conference, a la college basketball’s Big Ten-ACC Shootout.

That could certainly be an exciting addition to the local scene, too. But a conference tournament is probably the most viable in terms of getting everyone on the same page.

You can rotate it from one school to the next with each school getting a chance to host if they so choose. Run the tournament on three days: Quarterfinals on one day, semifinals two days later followed by a Saturday night championship game.

The girls can get in on this, too. Play all quarterfinals and semifinals at a separate location from the boys and have both finals at the boys’ host school on the same night.

Is there anyone who wouldn’t be behind this idea? Everybody loves a tournament. Well, except for the half-wits in charge of NCAA Division I football.

Just do a random draw or even have the previous year’s standings determine the seeding for the next year.

Now, I suspect any athletic directors reading this are thinking something along the lines of how the money gets divided up.

That’s a worthwhile question and I’m sure something could be worked out. Make each school responsible for selling advance tickets to the tournament and they get to keep whatever they sell and the host school gets to keep concession revenue. I don’t know, I’ll let them work that part out.

Another potential problem that Wells pointed out is teams in the westernmost reaches of the DAC (Lake Central, Crown Point, Merrillville) might object based on having a hard time filling their schedules. The theory goes that schools like Michigan City and La Porte can more easily travel to Elkhart, Goshen, etc., to pick up games.

That’s a fair objection, but to be honest, these schools got by just fine before the double round robin. There’s no reason to expect they couldn’t be just fine after it.

But in my opinion, this should happen. Each team can be guaranteed two games (the quarterfinal losers can play each other in consolation games). That would free up an additional five games per year that teams can use to play other county rivals they don’t get to play under the current double round robin system or even possible sectional and regional opponents who coaches want to get good tapes from.

Unless I’m missing something, I don’t see a real downside here. Coaches don’t really like the double round robin and AD’s want more conference games on the schedule.

This seems like a happy medium to me.

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http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...58709969732.txt

Slicers enter the Wolves Den

City's Adam Harmon drives over Merrillville's Brandon Smith on Friday at the Wolves Den. Scott Allen/For The News-Dispatch
H.S. Basketball Week Preview
Published: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 4:16 AM CST
Adam Parkhouse and Zack Eldridge
Staff Writers

Michigan City’s boys basketball team hasn’t won or lost more than two games in a row all season, perhaps the very definition of mediocrity at 7-7 (3-7 Duneland) on the season.

That run is in serious jeopardy this week when the Wolves host their arch-rival La Porte Slicers in the second game of a girls-boys doubleheader Friday starting at 6 p.m.

City’s only lost two straight one other time this season, but followed that up with a win at home over Chesterton to snap the string.

La Porte (9-6, 5-5 DAC) presents a similar challenge in terms of difficulty, but very different in terms of style. The Slicers are as dependent on the 3-pointer as any team in the DAC, but can be near impossible to beat on a hot night.

Meanwhile, offense has really been a problem for City lately. During this two-game losing streak, the Wolves scored just 81 combined points (40.5 per game). During a particularly-ugly stretch in the 56-42 loss to Merrillville, City made just 3-of-21 shots.

One of the problems for City is not having a third consistent scorer. Alajowon Edwards (12 ppg) and Adam Harmon (10.6 ppg) have led the way all season, but a third option hasn’t come up. Shereff Knight (6.4 ppg) and James Sanders (4.3 ppg) have had good individual games, but haven’t been in or near double figures consistently.

La Porte, on the other hand, is led by a very good senior class, three of whom average double digits in points. Dustin DeMuth (17 ppg), Rich Leslie (16.4 ppg) and Pat Spence (14 ppg) have been solid all year long and can beat opponents in a number of different ways.

The Slicers are coming off a 71-52 victory over Portage last Friday night, scoring 30 points in the third quarter.

La Porte also travels to South Central on Saturday night.

With four conference games left, the Slicers currently sit in fourth place in the DAC with a 5-5 mark, two games back of third-place Lake Central.

Saturday, after two weeks with just one game, City takes on South Bend Adams in the first back-to-back games since wins over Chesterton and Kankakee Valley Jan. 15 and 16.

Adams (5-9) also has three players averaging at least 10 points per game: T.J. Farrell (10.7 ppg), Trevon Love (10.6 ppg) and Roosevelt Green (10.5 ppg). The Wolves and Eagles have no common opponents this season, but Adams has won five of the last six meetings between the schools.

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The Wolves played the very definition of a team game tonight, having different players step up at different key moments of the game to give the Wolves a dramatic 52-51 win over rival LaPorte. Carlos McCormick led the way for the Wolves with 18 points and a bunch of big three point shots. The Wolves got down 34-24 just into the third quarter, and just when you thought the Slicers were going to open things up like they did in LaPorte last time, Alajuwon Edwards scored six quick points, including a three pointer, and a three point play to cut the lead back down. After that Shereff Knight made some big baskets in the lane to keep the Wolves in a tight game with the Slicers. At the end senior leader Adam Harmon hit a big three pointer, and then put City into the lead for good hitting a baseline drive at the rim to put City up 52-51. Dustin DeMuth had a chance at the end to win it potentially for LaPorte put he couldn't get a shot to go down on a play with a lot of contact both ways, the shot rimmed out, and Knight ended up with the rebound. After a miss on the one and one, the games leading scorer Rich Leslie couldn't hit from about 35 feet away from the basket, and that ended the game. Leslie led the way with 19, including some big three pointers. Michigan City improved to 8-7 on the season, and 4-7 in Duneland Conference play. LaPorte falls to 9-7, 5-6 in DAC play.

[Ang]

I was going to go to that game, but my parents were on the road from WY and I wasn't sure when they were getting in town, so I had to skip it. Glad MC won! GO WOLVES!!!

(side note: they arrived safe and secure! They're here for a funeral, which makes me sad-my uncle passed away Thursday morning-but I am happy to see them!)

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"But I listened to Mike and Adam's call on the radio and it felt like I was there!"

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...39506766459.txt

Thrilling win

City’s Carlos McCormick scores three of his team-leading 18 points in front of La Porte’s Jacob Craft (24) on Friday at the Wolves Den. (Scott Allen/For The News-Dispatch)
Boys: Michigan City 52, La Porte 51
By Adam Parkhouse
Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 4:15 AM CST
MICHIGAN CITY — In similar situations in the past, a Michigan City team might have folded up the tents and called it a night.

Instead, trailing by 10 early in the third quarter, City got back in the game.

The result was a 52-51 victory for City over arch-rival La Porte in a game with a thrilling conclusion.

“We just wanna play tough at home. This year is my first time being a part of the La Porte-Michigan City rivalry,” City coach John Boyd said. “The crowd came out and supported the team, and I was happy to see that.”

For La Porte coach Tom Wells, his team’s sloppiness was the main culprit.

“I didn’t think the game was lost in the closing minutes,” Wells said. “We had (13) turnovers and six or seven of those just were unforced, hurried turnovers. You put that together with 3-of-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter ... those are bad ingredients in close ball games.”

The first half was pretty tight throughout, but City (8-7, 4-7 Duneland) was kept in the game by a second-quarter hot streak from sophomore Carlos McCormick. He made 3-of-5 3-pointers in the stanza and scored 11 of his team-high 18 points to help City trail just 26-22 at the half. He had 13 of the Wolves’ points in the first two quarters.

“Actually in pregame I was missing,” said McCormick, who made 4-of-9 from downtown in the game.

“Coach Boyd always tells us once we shoot, never stop shooting.”

But in the third quarter, La Porte got hot, going on an 8-2 run to open the period and take a 34-24 lead.

But less than a minute later, City’s Alajowon Edwards completed a personal 6-0 run with a three-point play after draining a trey on the Wolves’ previous possession to cut the lead down to four.

“Well, that’s how you want to start the third quarter,” Wells said. “It was a great start for us, but give them credit. They didn’t fold any tents and came right back.”

Still, La Porte maintained its lead for a while until Shereff Knight completed City’s quick comeback with a jumper in the lane to give City a 40-39 lead. La Porte (9-7, 5-6 DAC), however, took a 43-40 lead into the fourth.

With 4:04 to play in the game, City’s Adam Harmon, who was 0-for-8 from the field at the time, drained a 3-pointer to tie the score 46-46 and set off a nip and tuck final four minutes.

The lead traded back and forth until Knight’s runner in the lane tied the score back up at 50-50 with 1:14 to play.

Seconds later, La Porte’s Rich Leslie was fouled, but split his free throws to give the Slicers a 51-50 lead.

Then, on the next possession, Harmon drove the baseline, got to the rim and scored to give City the 52-51 lead with 32 seconds to play.

With less than 10 seconds left, La Porte had a near turnover underneath its own basket, but officials ruled City knocked it out, giving the Slicers a chance.

An inbounds play worked perfectly and Dustin DeMuth got a close look at a shot but missed. There was contact on the play but no foul was called. A loose ball foul was called on Leslie and City had the ball with 5.6 seconds left.

Wells thought there might have been a foul on the DeMuth shot.

“Let’s just say that’s not the point in the game you want to get an apology from the referee,” Wells said, adding that, in fact, one of the officials apologized to him for a non-call.

The Wolves then inbounded to Edwards and he was immediately fouled. Edwards missed the front end of the one-and-bonus and with 4.6 seconds left, La Porte, without a timeout, pushed the ball up court.

However, City didn’t allow them to get far, and Leslie’s 35-footer at the buzzer wasn’t close, giving the Wolves the big home win.

“(The Wolves) got the ball stopped pretty good,” Wells said of that final play. “A lof of times you’re able to go coast-to-coast, but they did a good job getting the ball stopped.”

For City, it was a good win after not playing well in its previous three games.

“I’m really happy,” McCormick said. “I liked the intensity in here.”

Boyd added, “We knew if we kept the intensity up that La Porte doesn’t have a deep bench. But we had a sixth man out here tonight with our crowd.”

Contact Sports Editor Adam Parkhouse at aparkhouse@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 461.

MICHIGAN CITY 52, LA PORTE 51

LA PORTE (9-7, 5-6 DAC)

DeMuth 4-9 1-3 9, Jurjevic 4-9 2-2 13, Craft 0-4 1-2 1, Spence 3-8 0-0 9, Leslie 5-11 6-8 19, Vaughn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 10-15 51.

MICHIGAN CITY (8-7, 4-7 DAC)

Harmon 2-10 2-2 7, Knight 5-6 1-1 11, Washington 1-2 0-0 2, Clay 0-2 0-0 0, Lavery 1-2 0-0 3, McCormick 7-12 0-0 18, Edwards 4-8 1-2 10, Byrnes 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 20-45 5-7 52.

La Porte 7 19 17 8 — 51

Michigan City 8 14 18 12 — 52

3-point shooting — La Porte 9-26 (Leslie 3-9, Spence 3-8, Jurjevic 3-7, DeMuth 0-2), Michigan City 7-18 (McCormick 4-9, Harmon 1-5, Lavery 1-2, Edwards 1-2). Rebounds — La Porte 25 (Leslie 8), Michigan City 21 (Edwards 6). Total fouls — La Porte 10, Michigan City 14. Turnovers — La Porte 13, Michigan City 11.