It didn't take long for Crown Point and South Bend Riley to show their cards in the 4A regional championship on Saturday night at Michigan City High School. Both teams shot the ball at a high level immediately and it continued the entire game. South Bend Riley was able to have a three point advantage when time expired.

RIley's Damezi Anderson and Crown Point's Nick Jeffirs were lights out from the opening tip. Crown Point's game plan was to establish Jeffirs early in the post feeding the St. Joe's College (Ind.) bound forward each of the first four possessions. Riley does not start a true post player and Jeffirs was able to get good looks at point-blank range throughout much of the game. Anderson was knocking down outside shots for Riley. He converted his first four shots including three 3-pointers on his way to 11 first quarter points.

The scoring rate was fast and efficient throughout the game. After just one quarter (eight minutes in high school), the score was 25-21 with Riley leading. The pace and shot making did not drop off much the rest of the way either. Riley shot over 60% from the field for the game including 14-24 (58%) from 3-point range. Crown Point was no slouch either shooting 56% from the field. The shooting was not for a lack of effort on the defensive end. Each team was putting out a solid effort, but the offenses were taking advantage of every mistake.

Sophomore Sasha Stefanovic played a large role in Crown Point's victory over Munster in the Regional semifinal. He had all seven of Crown Point's points in the second quarter of that game then went eight of ten from the free-throw line to seal the game. Stefanovic had another big performance in the second period for the Bulldogs against Riley. He scored 12 points in the quarter this time including five of six from the field. He went on to score 24 points in the game.

The third quarter was dominated by Josh Berquist and Jeffirs for Crown Point while Reontre Lawrence stepped up for RIley in the period. Berquist scored all seven of his points for the game in the quarter. He was active going to his left off the dribble. Lawrence elevated his game in the second half for Riley. He scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the third quarter.

The final quarter was just as good as the first three. It was competitive and both teams made plays to keep its season alive. Jadon Grundy knocked down a couple big 3-pointers from the left corner for Riley while Stefanovic and Jeffirs attacked the paint. Stefanovic mad e a driving layup with just over a minute remaining in the game to pull the Bulldogs within two points. It looked like Crown Point would have to pressure Riley then foul if they could not get a turnover. Well, Riley turned the ball over giving Crown Point the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead.

Crown Point worked the ball for more than 30 seconds looking to get the best shot that they could. Junior Grant Gelon attacked the basket off of a set play and it looked like he was going to have a good shot in the lane to tie the game until freshman Sharmar Dillard came from the weak side to sky for the blocked shot. It was a fantastic effort from the youngster in terms of athleticism and defensive awareness. Lawrence tracked down the loose ball and was fouled by Crown Point.

Lawrence converted one of two free-throws to give Riley a three point lead with 19 seconds left. Riley committed a foul on the rebound letting Crown Point head to the line without time coming off the clock. Jeffirs, who was just 6-13 from the line prior to this trip, hit both shots to pull Crown Point within one point.

After Lawrence knocked down two free-throws for Riley, Crown Point had the ball down three points and 15.8 seconds on the clock. Crown Point ran a play that let Gelon get loose for a deep but clean look at a game-tying three. It did not go down but Crown Point tracked down the offensive rebound. Coach Swan called for timeout with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. Stefanovic got a look from the volleyball line off the sideline out of bounds play, but it was off the mark. Riley outlasted Crown Point 77-74.

Crown Point ends its season with a record of 19-9 with most of its team returning next year. Riley advances to play Homestead out of Fort Wayne in the 4A northern semistate. It will be a match-up of brothers as Riley's Mark Johnson faces Homestead's Chris Johnson.

Riley  25  21  17  14 ---77

Crown Point  21  22  17 14 ---74

Riley: Damezi Anderson 17 points (7-11 FG), Sharmar Dillard 11 points(5-7 FG), Jadon Grundy 17 points (5-8 3FG), Maurice Scott 11 points, Reontre Lawrence 20 points (5-9 FG, 6-13 FT), Darrius Moragne 5 rebounds, 2 blocks.

Crown Point: Grant Gelon 5 points (2-7 FG), 7 rebounds, Sasha Stefanovic 24 points (8-14 FG, 5-6 FT), Nick Jeffirs 27 points, 5 rebounds, Blake Bonin 4 points, Josh Berquist 7 points, Thayne Bukowski 7 points