Crown Point forward Dikembe Shaw goes off for 33 points to lead state’s No. 2 Bulldogs to 84-62 victory over visiting No. 13 Chesterton, which drops into third place in the DAC with the loss that ends Trojans’ six-game winning streak

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Chesterton boys basketball coach Marc Urban described every challenge that the state’s No. 2-ranked team presented several days before Monday night’s game at Crown Point: Deep roster of long, physical athletes constantly applying defensive pressure to force turnovers that lead to fastbreak buckets in bunches, a well-designed offense relying on players whose skills differ from each other, and a “no-brainer” Indiana All-Star causing matchup nightmares.
And then the undefeated Bulldogs took the court, used all of those elements and showed why they are ranked so highly. Chesterton was unable to slow either their style of play or their superstar.
Blending four 3-pointers, 11 of 12 free throws, a tomahawk dunk, drives and putbacks, Crown Point fourth-year starter Dikembe Shaw scored 33 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 84-62 victory in front of a big crowd.
The loss dropped Chesterton from a three-way, first-place tie in the DAC with Portage and Crown Point into third place. It also ended the Trojans’ winning streak at six games.
“Yeah, he couldn’t miss,” Chesterton coach Marc Urban said of Shaw. “Couldn’t miss. He’s an extremely tough guard. He was very, very, very comfortable shooting his 3s, was able to put it on the floor, was able to get to the line. He was good. We had nobody who could even come close to guarding him.”
Shaw, a 6-foot-7 forward who signed a national letter of intent to play at Division I University of Illinois-Chicago, had 30 of his points by the end of the third quarter, at which point Crown Point’s lead was 62-47.
Then the Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run that took just 1:06 off the clock.
“I mean, they’re a really good team. So, it’s not like we lost to a bad team, but I was just really disappointed in the fact that we kind of let their aggressiveness take over,” Urban said.
Crown Point took control right from the start, opening a 16-2 lead.
The Trojans (12-3 overall, 2-1 in DAC play) knew what was coming, but the difference between seeing Crown Point’s aggressiveness on video and being the target of it live was evident from the start: a picked up dribble here, a truncated drive there, watching when moving was the play, and eyes-wide pleas to the referees when the ball was flying in the other direction added up to a shellshocked vibe from the visitors.
“Whether we’re getting fouled or not, they didn’t call it, so we’re not getting fouled,” Urban said. “We have to be tougher with it, but it’s also a lesson we have to learn because that’s the best (team). So, it’s going to be really difficult against a team like that if you’re not going to take care of the basketball the way we didn’t take care of the basketball, if we’re not going to finish around the rim, and I don’t think we finished great. We just weren’t good.”
The Trojans trailed 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and 43-27 at the half, after Tobias Ray hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter.
The third quarter was their best, when Crown Point outscored them by just a point, 19-18. Logan Pokorney, who scored six of his eight points in the third quarter, opened the half by driving to the lane and hitting turnaround jumpers on the first two possessions.
“He had those good first two takes and then we gave up three offensive rebounds and it’s good night,” Urban said.
Junior guard Malachi Ransom scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the third period.
“He made some plays. We made that quick little run with him in there,” Urban said. “He’s fully capable of doing that. He can drive like that within our offense and he can be electric. When they were pressed up, he was able to get downhill and make some good plays, which was good to see.”
Jaylon Watts was the only one to join Ransom in double figures and on a night the bench contributed 28 points, eight came from junior Gunner Ello.
Crown Point (13-0, 3-0) is 5-0 against teams ranked in the top 14 of the state coaches poll released Monday, defeating No. 4 Silver Creek, No. 7 Mount Vernon, No. 9 Cathedral, No. 13 Chesterton and No. 14 Penn.
“Give them credit. They beat us in every phase of basketball,” Urban said of the Bulldogs. “You turn it over, pick six. You can’t defend, Dikembe is shooting anything he wants to shoot. It’s a frustrating loss. It’s a frustrating loss.”
Crown Point (13-0, 3-0) is 5-0 against teams ranked in the top 14 of the state coaches poll released Monday, defeating No. 4 Silver Creek, No. 7 Mount Vernon, No. 9 Cathedral, No. 13 Chesterton and No. 14 Penn.
“They’re probably going to run the table throughout the rest of the regular season and they’re a good team,” Urban said. “They’ve done that to a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean that we have to just sit here and be OK with it.”
Urban didn’t let one disappointing performance dent the faith he has in his team.
“Some people look at it like well, they’re the No. 2 team in the state,” Urban said. “Well, I think, we’re a good basketball team. I believe in these guys. I’m excited to get back and work with them. When the lights come on and things are going to be competitive, we have to take our competitive spirit to another level but do your job in that competitive spirit, just don’t wish it will happen or want it to happen. You’ve got to make things go.”
The Trojans are back on the road Friday to face Lake Central (9-5 overall, 1-2 in the DAC).