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Boys Basketball: Valparaiso edges out Crown Point
CROWN POINT — In a battle between two inexperienced teams searching for their identities, Valparaiso demonstrated more poise than Crown Point.
The Vikings (5-1, 2-1 DAC) repeatedly beat the Bulldogs’ press in the pivotal fourth quarter to emerge with a 60-49 win Tuesday night.
Junior center John Mosser scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the final eight minutes to help Valparaiso turn a tenuous 36-33 lead early in the fourth quarter into a 55-41 lead in the final minutes.
“I think we’re similar teams,’’ Valparaiso coach Joe Otis said. “We just hit a few more shots and we finally settled down at the free-throw line. They’re raw and we have zero experience to be 5-1 right now. I think we’d be happy being .500.
“I thought we showed some real poise at the end — getting a lot of easy baskets off their press.’’
The Vikings made 9 of 11 from the line in the fourth quarter when they outscored the Bulldogs 26-20.
Mosser, who tied his career-high with his 19 points, had a huge fourth quarter — stepping up and even knocking down a 3-point shot in response to a CP trey.
“John’s 3 was a back-breaker,’’ Otis said. “We didn’t really want him to shoot that, but really stepped up for us tonight. John was Mr. Clutch in the fourth quarter.’’
Although only a junior, Mosser is a captain who led the way Tuesday night.
“They just started pressing us and my teammates really looked for me,’’ Mosser said. “The plan was for us to get the ball out, break the press and run. Zach Meyer (12 points) had three assists to me there in the fourth quarter.
“When their big men fouled out (Nick Jeffirs and Sean Kelly) that really opened things up even more.’’
About that 3-pointer Mosser hit?
“Coach is always telling us: ‘If you’re going to shoot, do it with confidence.’ That’s what I did. I had confidence I would make it.’’
The loss was another learning experience for the Bulldogs, who are trying to find their identity, too.
“We strung together a few possessions and were close, but we couldn’t really gain any momentum,’’ Bulldogs coach Clint Swan said. “A lot of that has to do with Valpo. They’re extremely well coached.’’
While Crown Point (1-3, 1-2) closed within three points early in the fourth period (36-33), it couldn’t come up with a key play when it was needed most.
“I think it’s a by-product of having a young team right now,’’ Swan said. “The season is a marathon — not a sprint. This is game four of 20. We just have to be patient and take each practice one a time and each game one at a time. We don’t need to panic, just play together. We just have to continue to gain experience and keep getting better.’’
Tom Bardeson led CP with 14 points.
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