After a lackluster first half Friday, Jaronde Boyd and his Michigan City teammates had to find a new gear in the second half.
“We understood that we came out slow,” said Boyd, a 5-foot-9 senior guard. “Our coaches got into us in the locker room, telling us that we weren’t playing our game. We have speed, but we weren’t using our speed as an advantage.”
That changed in the second half as the Wolves ran all over host Crown Point, turning an 11-point halftime deficit into a 56-53 win on the first night of Duneland Athletic Conference play.
Crown Point (9-2, 0-1) had won 17 in a row at home, but failed to build on its 27-16 halftime lead in losing to Michigan City (9-3, 1-0).
“They just outplayed us,” Crown Point coach Clint Swan said. “All the credit goes to them. Their length bothered us, their defensive pressure bothered us. Stops and scores is what it comes down to. They were getting them and we weren’t.”
Michigan City opened the third quarter on a 15-0 run and outscored Crown Point 22-3.
“We noticed they were getting a little fatigued in the first half, so we took advantage of that by keeping pressure on them,” Michigan City coach John Boyd said.
The Wolves ramped up their defensive pressure, leading to seven turnovers by the Bulldogs in the third quarter. On offense, Michigan City was just as determined.
“We were just more aggressive,” Jaronde Boyd said. “In the first half we were passive, settling for the jump shot. But our coaches told us we had to be gritty and force our way to the basket. We just didn’t stop once we started going there.”
Jaronde Boyd had seven of his eight points in the third quarter, with four coming on a pair of drives to the rim for easy layups. The Wolves shot 58 percent (7-for-12) in the third after hitting only 24 percent (5-for-21) in the first half.
Michigan City led 38-30 to start the fourth and maintained that lead until a pair of 3-pointers by Crown Point in the final minute.
Six different Michigan City players scored at least seven points. That group included senior guard Dominique Jones, who led the Wolves with 12 points off the bench.
Crown Point received a game-high 21 points from senior forward Sam Decker, while classmate Sasha Stefanovic added 17.
Senior center Andrew Kenneally made the start for Crown Point, but was pulled after one minute due to an illness and did not return to action.
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
